Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Now Covered by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has initiated coverage on Stifel Financial, giving the stock a "market perform" rating and setting a price target of $121.00, representing a potential upside of 7.97% from its current price.
• Other analysts have shown mixed signals, with JMP Securities raising their price target to $130.00 while Zacks Research downgraded the stock to a "hold." Currently, the average rating for Stifel Financial is "Hold" with an average price target of $116.30.
• Stifel Financial reported strong Q2 earnings, with $1.71 EPS, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $1.28 billion, reflecting a 5.4% year-over-year increase.

Stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "market perform" rating and a $121.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.97% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Stifel Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.30.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.2%

SF stock opened at $112.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Stifel Financial has a 1-year low of $73.27 and a 1-year high of $120.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.83.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter valued at about $1,386,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $361,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 401.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 3,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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