Short Interest in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Declines By 27.6%

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 221,500 shares, a drop of 27.6% from the March 15th total of 305,800 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 96,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Piper Sandler Companies

In other news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 4,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.72, for a total transaction of $914,502.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,340.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 4,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.72, for a total transaction of $914,502.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,315,340.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 2,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.79, for a total transaction of $361,917.27. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 166,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,883,615.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,524 shares of company stock valued at $9,838,711. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Piper Sandler Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PIPR. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 29.8% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 28,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 15.8% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 15,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 5.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 7.3% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR stock traded down $2.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.60. 88,600 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,683. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $195.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.17. Piper Sandler Companies has a twelve month low of $120.97 and a twelve month high of $202.76.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $457.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $370.12 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Piper Sandler Companies will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PIPR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Tuesday. Northland Securities cut shares of Piper Sandler Companies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Piper Sandler Companies from $171.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th.

Piper Sandler Companies Company Profile

Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. It offers investment banking services and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products; advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products.