Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 32,055 Shares of Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its Stifel Financial stake by 38.6% in the first quarter, acquiring 32,055 shares for a total of 115,003 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.01% of the company.
• Stifel Financial reported quarterly earnings of $1.42 per share, beating analyst estimates of $1.33, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $1.45 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.90, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $82.69.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 38.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,055 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Stifel Financial worth $8,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,451,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $391,674,000 after acquiring an additional 419,038 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $362,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408,347 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 51.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,403,000 after purchasing an additional 890,810 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,371,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,128,000 after buying an additional 45,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,034,000 after acquiring an additional 17,008 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of SF opened at $82.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Stifel Financial Corporation has a one year low of $67.81 and a one year high of $89.83. The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.32% 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In related news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $453,736.80. This trade represents a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Stifel Financial

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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