Northern Trust Corp Buys 145,902 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,128,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 145,902 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.10% of Stifel Financial worth $119,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

SF traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $91.25. 102,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 677,201. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.07. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.27 and a 12 month high of $120.64.

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

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities lowered their price target on Stifel Financial from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Stifel Financial from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.50.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.