Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Piper Sandler Companies shares reached a new 52-week high of $374.77, closing at $367.54 with a trading volume of 269,879 shares.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share was recently declared, an increase from the previous $0.65, representing a 0.8% dividend yield.
• Analysts have assigned an average rating of "Hold" for the stock, with a consensus price target of $312.50, indicating a mixed outlook on its future performance.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $374.77 and last traded at $367.54, with a volume of 269879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PIPR. Wolfe Research raised Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.50.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Down 0.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $328.94.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Piper Sandler Companies's payout ratio is presently 23.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.33, for a total transaction of $3,193,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,102,676.14. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.69, for a total transaction of $645,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,080,415.05. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,380,342 in the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Piper Sandler Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PIPR. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 2.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 27.6% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 9.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 56,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,583,000 after acquiring an additional 4,969 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 11.1% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.