Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Raymond James Financial from $172 to $174 while keeping an equal weight rating, implying modest upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts were mixed but generally constructive: Citigroup reiterated outperform, Barclays lifted its target to $192 with an overweight rating, and the consensus rating from MarketBeat remained Hold with an average target of $175.50.
• Raymond James reported Q2 earnings of $2.83 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year; the stock was also trading near the top of its 52-week range after rising 0.4% on the day.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $172.00 to $174.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 2.74% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on RJF. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $182.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.50.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $169.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.93. Raymond James Financial has a 12 month low of $138.82 and a 12 month high of $177.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.23.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 13.04%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Raymond James Financial by 8.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 15,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,164,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 137.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial during the second quarter valued at $363,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm's core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.

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