Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Stifel Financial experienced a 58.3% increase in short interest from July to August, with a total of 2,960,000 shares sold short as of August 15th.
• The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 5.4% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Stifel Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, resulting in a 1.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 35.66%.

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,960,000 shares, anincreaseof58.3% from the July 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 693,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently,3.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently,3.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 693,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SF traded down $3.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.69. The company had a trading volume of 736,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,944. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 1.13. Stifel Financial has a 12 month low of $73.27 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $111.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.98.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.90%.The business's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.66%.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SF. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 285.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 38,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 28,480 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,030,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,299,000 after acquiring an additional 29,344 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $609,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $3,726,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.78.

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.

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