Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $1.86 Million Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 263.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,284 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Stifel Financial from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Stifel Financial from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.50.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Stifel Financial stock traded up $1.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $109.20. 466,965 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 683,799. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.27 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $95.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.44. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 1.09.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($1.15). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Stifel Financial's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $966,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 45,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,592.77. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Stifel Financial

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.