Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Piper Sandler Companies has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five analysts, with four holding and one issuing a buy rating; the average 1-year price target is $312.50.
• Recent insider transactions include Director Scott C. Taylor and CEO Chad R. Abraham selling shares, reducing their holdings by approximately 13% each.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.65 to $0.70 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $312.50.

PIPR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Piper Sandler Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.86, for a total value of $831,636.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,219,795.34. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.71, for a total transaction of $2,589,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,337,260.18. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,380,342 over the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PIPR. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 694,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,977,000 after purchasing an additional 61,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 2.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,402,000 after buying an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 35.0% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 357,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,456,000 after buying an additional 92,527 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.8% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 323,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,114,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 290,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,702,000 after buying an additional 2,839 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

PIPR stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $341.75. 181,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,392. The company's fifty day moving average is $334.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84 and a beta of 1.45. Piper Sandler Companies has a 1-year low of $202.91 and a 1-year high of $374.77.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.96. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $405.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $349.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. Piper Sandler Companies's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.63%.

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.

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