AIA Group Ltd Buys Shares of 30,360 Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during Q1, purchasing 30,360 shares valued at about $2.24 million.
• Stifel Financial reported Q2 earnings of $1.45 per share, topping analyst estimates, while revenue came in below expectations at $1.44 billion.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, equal to a 1.8% yield, and analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $91.75.

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,244,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 94.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $362,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,347 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth $172,446,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,284,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,883,000 after purchasing an additional 433,341 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 13.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,451,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $391,674,000 after purchasing an additional 419,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 40.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,367,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,084,000 after purchasing an additional 394,863 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SF stock opened at $77.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.01. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.81 and a 12 month high of $89.83. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (down from $89.00) on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.75.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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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