Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Position Lessened by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,079,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,392 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.04% of Stifel Financial worth $143,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SF. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 46,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SF. StockNews.com downgraded Stifel Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SF traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.93. The company had a trading volume of 446,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,723. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $54.81 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.13). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.18%.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In related news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,125,150.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Stifel Financial news, Director David A. Peacock sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $1,038,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,489,815.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 74,421 shares of company stock valued at $5,639,783. Insiders own 3.52% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Profile

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.