Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 162,174 Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 162,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,595 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,122,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,188,000 after acquiring an additional 31,101 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,279,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,023,000 after acquiring an additional 33,953 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,958,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,696,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,355,000 after acquiring an additional 20,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SF opened at $97.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.06 and its 200-day moving average is $104.90. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $73.51 and a 1-year high of $120.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

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.