Covenant Asset Management LLC Makes New $3.15 Million Investment in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Covenant Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial Corporation worth approximately $3.15 million, purchasing 30,376 shares during the second quarter.
• Stifel Financial reported a net margin of 11.90% and topped earnings estimates with $1.71 EPS for the last quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $1.65.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, yielding about 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 35.66%.

Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,152,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SF. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. JMP Securities increased their price target on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered Stifel Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 target price on Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.78.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

SF opened at $114.73 on Monday. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.27 and a 1-year high of $120.64. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 1.13. The company's fifty day moving average price is $113.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.43. 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 (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were 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 was Tuesday, September 2nd. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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