Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Stock

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $125.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $124.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.63.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 1.2%

SF stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.33. The stock had a trading volume of 747,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,138. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 1.09. Stifel Financial has a twelve month low of $73.27 and a twelve month high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($1.15). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 12.26%. Stifel Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In other news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total transaction of $966,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,592.77. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 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.