Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $224,000 in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has acquired 2,379 shares of Stifel Financial Corporation, valued at approximately $224,000, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their stakes in Stifel Financial, with notable increases including Allworth Financial LP raising its position by 67.7% and MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB by 123.6%.
• Citigroup and other analysts have upgraded Stifel Financial, raising the target price to between $108.00 and $135.00, indicating a strong positive outlook for the stock.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SF. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 67.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. Citigroup upgraded Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 target price on Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $966,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,592.77. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF opened at $110.8840 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $73.27 and a 52-week high of $120.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $107.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.81.

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

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is 35.66%.

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.

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