Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $215.35 Million Stock Position in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation by 13.8%, selling 366,969 shares and now holding approximately 2.22% of the company's total shares, worth about $215.35 million.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded Stifel Financial, with Citigroup raising its target price from $115 to $135 and four investment analysts currently rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."
• Stifel Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 35.66%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,284,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 366,969 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.22% of Stifel Financial worth $215,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,620,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,080,000 after buying an additional 217,415 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 314.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,383,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,925,000 after buying an additional 1,049,665 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,211,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,204,000 after buying an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 0.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,136,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,099,000 after buying an additional 7,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,030,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,299,000 after buying an additional 29,344 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.78.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 2.6%

SF stock traded down $3.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.69. The company had a trading volume of 736,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 615,191. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.03. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $73.27 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 1.13.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is presently 35.66%.

Stifel Financial 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.