Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Short Interest Up 58.3% in August

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 large growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,960,000 shares, a growth of 58.3% from the July 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 693,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 693,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price objective on Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup raised Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SF. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 67.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 5,528.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 394 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.0%

SF stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.29. 858,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 630,044. Stifel Financial has a 12-month low of $73.27 and a 12-month high of $120.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.37.

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

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.