Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wolfe Research from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $339.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Wolfe Research's price target points to a potential upside of 12.45% from the stock's previous close.

PIPR has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Piper Sandler Companies from $321.00 to $286.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PIPR traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $301.48. 189,226 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,383. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35 and a beta of 1.48. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $265.33. Piper Sandler Companies has a twelve month low of $202.91 and a twelve month high of $351.80.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.85 by $1.24. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.32% and a net margin of 13.20%. The firm had revenue of $357.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 28.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 6.6% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Piper Sandler Companies

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.