Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain cautious on Raymond James Financial: Eight of 13 analysts rate the stock “Hold,” while five recommend buying it. The average 12-month price target is $181, close to its reported opening price of $179.52.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Raymond James reported earnings of $3.14 per share versus the $2.91 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 15.6% year over year to $3.93 billion.
• The company maintains shareholder returns: Raymond James declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, equal to an annualized $2.16 payout and a 1.2% yield. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the stock, while two insiders recently sold shares.

Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $181.00.

RJF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $162.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of Raymond James Financial stock opened at $179.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company's 50-day moving average price is $161.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.02. Raymond James Financial has a 52 week low of $138.82 and a 52 week high of $182.73. The stock has a market cap of $34.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.92.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.23. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 13.57%.The business had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In related news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total value of $1,760,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,942,770.84. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total transaction of $998,036.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 43,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,445,666.62. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $724,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $154,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Raymond James Financial in the second quarter worth $182,254,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial during the second quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm's core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.

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