199,915 Shares in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Acquired by Argent Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management acquired 199,915 Stifel Financial shares worth approximately $14 million, representing a 0.13% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.01% of the company.
• Stifel reported quarterly revenue of $1.45 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 13% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $93.78.
• Shares recently traded at $70.70, near the lower end of their 52-week range, while the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, or $1.36 annually, yielding approximately 1.9%.

Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 199,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,002,000. Argent Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of Stifel Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,031,197,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,403,000 after acquiring an additional 890,810 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,875,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,637,000 after acquiring an additional 693,437 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 972,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,790,000 after acquiring an additional 39,382 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 934,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $116,989,000 after acquiring an additional 280,659 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SF traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.70. 308,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,793. Stifel Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $67.81 and a twelve month high of $89.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.01.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 16.11%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. Stifel Financial's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In related news, Director Maryam Brown sold 4,700 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,736.80. The trade was a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Profile

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company provides wealth management, investment banking, institutional brokerage, equity and fixed-income research, securities trading, and asset management services.

Its wealth management business serves individual investors, families, businesses, and institutions through financial planning, investment advisory, brokerage, banking, and related services.

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