Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 364,013 Shares of Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Stifel Financial stake by 287.2% in the second quarter, buying 364,013 additional shares for a total of 490,762 shares valued at approximately $34.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.01% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with five Buy ratings and four Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $91.90.
• Stifel exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.42 versus the $1.33 consensus and revenue of $1.45 billion, up 13% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34, equivalent to a 1.6% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 287.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 490,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 364,013 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.32% of Stifel Financial worth $34,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $362,368,000 after buying an additional 1,408,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $172,446,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 51.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Stifel Financial by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,875,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,637,000 after acquiring an additional 693,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Stifel Financial by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,284,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,883,000 after acquiring an additional 433,341 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In related news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $83.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $67.81 and a 12-month high of $89.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.57.

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

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is currently 24.33%.

Stifel Financial 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source