Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,699 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Stifel Financial worth $13,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SF. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $124.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.50.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SF traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $98.90. The company had a trading volume of 451,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,399. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $90.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.93. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $73.27 and a 1 year high of $120.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($1.15). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

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.