Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Hits New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $120.20 and last traded at $115.52, with a volume of 247 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $115.21.

The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,544,535.42. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,595 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,958,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,923,000 after buying an additional 860,465 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at about $12,290,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,464,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,509,000 after acquiring an additional 65,113 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 316.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 69,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,400,000 after acquiring an additional 52,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.2 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.57. The firm has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

Stifel Financial Corp., a financial services and bank holding company, provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other.