Nuveen LLC Makes New $28.56 Million Investment in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 303,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,564,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.29% of Stifel Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SF. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 67.7% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 123.6% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 53.0% in the first 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. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SF traded up $4.5150 on Friday, hitting $115.1650. The company had a trading volume of 225,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 790,773. The stock has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.80. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.27 and a 1-year 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 posted its 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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Stifel Financial's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SF. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.78.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In other news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 45,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,592.77. This trade 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 accessible through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 7 shares of company stock valued at $781 over the last 90 days. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stifel Financial Company 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.