Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $105.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SF shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter worth $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter worth $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 123.6% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SF traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.03. 868,369 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,406. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $92.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.90. Stifel Financial has a one year low of $73.27 and a one year high of $120.64. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($1.15). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Stifel Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

About Stifel Financial

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.