Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Position Boosted by Magnetar Financial LLC

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC increased its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation by 371%, acquiring 62,120 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 78,863 shares valued at $7.43 million.
• Stifel Financial reported $1.71 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, with revenues reaching $1.28 billion, a 5.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, representing a 1.6% yield, with payment scheduled for September 16th.

Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 371.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,120 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 0.08% of Stifel Financial worth $7,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SF. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,128,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $119,762,000 after acquiring an additional 145,902 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:SF traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $114.24. The company had a trading volume of 602,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,662. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $110.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.87. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.27 and a 12-month high of $120.64. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.90%.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 business earned $1.60 EPS. Stifel Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $966,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,592.77. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders acquired a total of 7 shares of company stock worth $781 in the last 90 days. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SF. Wall Street Zen raised Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.78.

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.