Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Upgraded to "Hold" at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• Stifel Financial has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by BMO Capital Markets, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for Stifel Financial, with Citigroup raising their price objective from $115.00 to $135.00.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 5.4% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.71, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stifel Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Stifel Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut Stifel Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $135.00 price objective on Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.30.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of Stifel Financial stock opened at $111.29 on Thursday. Stifel Financial has a twelve month low of $73.27 and a twelve month high of $120.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.13. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $113.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.93.

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 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 firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SF. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 67.7% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 5,528.6% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 394 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 53.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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