Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Stifel Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from nine brokerages, with five buy ratings and four hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $91.75.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.45 per share, topping estimates of $1.39, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year to $1.44 billion.
• Stifel Financial also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 26.46%.

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.75.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (down from $89.00) on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SF. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 35,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 26,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,838,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 287.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 490,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,240,000 after buying an additional 364,013 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 48.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 5,927 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.0%

SF stock opened at $78.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.92 and a 200-day moving average of $77.02. Stifel Financial has a fifty-two week low of $67.81 and a fifty-two week high of $89.83. The company has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.

The firm's main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.