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

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SF. StockNews.com cut shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.33.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Stifel Financial stock opened at $117.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.11. Stifel Financial has a 52 week low of $71.36 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 26.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 27.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 12,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.