Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Stake Raised by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation by 5.2% in the first quarter, owning a total of 75,239 shares valued at around $7.09 million.
• Stifel Financial reported earnings of $1.71 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 5.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 35.66%.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.07% of Stifel Financial worth $7,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $1,237,000. Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 27,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 388.0% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 82,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 65,425 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 93.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 13,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 82.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

SF opened at $116.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $109.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.27 and a 12-month high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.90%.The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued 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 (DPR) is 35.66%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other Stifel Financial news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $966,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,592.77. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 7 shares of company stock valued at $781. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price objective on Stifel Financial 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.78.

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.

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