519,811 Shares in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 519,811 shares of Stifel Financial worth approximately $36.3 million, giving it a 0.34% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 82.01% of the company.
• Stifel Financial reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, exceeding estimates of $1.33, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $1.45 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34, representing a 1.7% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $91.90 price target, compared with the stock’s recent opening price of $80.95. Wall Street estimates full-year EPS of $6.36.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 519,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $36,267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.34% of Stifel Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,031,197,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $362,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $172,446,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,235,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,086,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In other news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,729 shares in the company, valued at $453,736.80. This represents a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of SF stock opened at $80.95 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $78.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.99. Stifel Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $67.81 and a fifty-two week high of $89.83.

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

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is 24.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SF shares. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Stifel Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.90.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.

The firm's main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.

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