Ancora Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation by 2.9%, owning approximately 135,955 shares valued at $12.8 million following a recent acquisition.
• Several investment firms have upgraded their ratings on Stifel Financial, with Citigroup raising its target price from $115.00 to $135.00 and assigning a "buy" rating.
• Stifel Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.71, exceeding estimates, with a net margin of 11.90% and a significant 5.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Stifel Financial worth $12,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter worth about $6,598,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $676,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 112.5% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 74,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,034,000 after acquiring an additional 39,501 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 151.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 20.3% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of SF traded down $3.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $112.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 736,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 615,191. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.27 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Stifel Financial

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.