Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires 48,346 Shares of Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 56.3% in the first quarter, buying 48,346 additional shares and bringing its total to 134,153 shares worth about $9.9 million.
• Stifel Financial reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.45 per share for the quarter, though revenue came in below consensus at $1.44 billion. Revenue still rose 17.7% year over year.
• The stock was down 1.8% to $77.29, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy view with a consensus price target of $91.75.

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 56.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 134,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,346 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.09% of Stifel Financial worth $9,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SF. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 5.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 1,162.6% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 2,488 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 106.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,349,000 after buying an additional 59,662 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 31,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,425,000 after buying an additional 10,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:SF opened at $77.29 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $67.81 and a 1 year high of $89.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.02.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 15.34%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is currently 26.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 price objective (down from $89.00) on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.75.

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.

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