25,392 Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC nearly doubled its Stifel Financial stake by purchasing 25,392 shares in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 52,170 shares valued at approximately $3.65 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.01% of the company.
• Stifel shares opened at $66.69, near their 52-week low of $65.40, after declining 1.7%. The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.46, slightly above estimates, while revenue of $1.43 billion fell short of expectations.
• Stifel declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $85.71.

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,392 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $3,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,031,197,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 51.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,403,000 after acquiring an additional 890,810 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 58.7% in 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,367,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,084,000 after acquiring an additional 394,863 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,075,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,469,000 after acquiring an additional 351,146 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 1.7%

SF stock opened at $66.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.85 and a 200-day moving average of $75.82. Stifel Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $89.83.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.45 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 16.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SF. UBS Group set a $83.00 price objective on Stifel Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.71.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its principal operating subsidiaries, including Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company provides wealth management, investment banking, securities brokerage and related financial services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities and institutional clients.

Its wealth management business offers investment advice, brokerage services, financial planning, banking and lending solutions, and access to a range of investment products.

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