Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $7.45 Million Position in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies acquired 100,823 shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter, worth approximately $7.45 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 82.01% of the company’s stock.
• Stifel Financial reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, beating estimates of $1.33, while revenue rose 13% year over year to $1.45 billion. Shares opened at $83.60, near the upper half of their 52-week range.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with five Buy ratings and four Holds; the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $91.90.

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 100,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,453,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.07% of Stifel Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $362,368,000 after buying an additional 1,408,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth $172,446,000. 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 valued at $193,403,000 after purchasing an additional 890,810 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,284,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $160,883,000 after purchasing an additional 433,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 13.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,451,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $391,674,000 after purchasing an additional 419,038 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 represents a 45.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of SF stock opened at $83.60 on Tuesday. Stifel Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $67.81 and a fifty-two week high of $89.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.57.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. Stifel Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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