Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $121.70 and last traded at $121.4440, with a volume of 325112 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SF. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $121.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.90.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,620,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,001,080,000 after purchasing an additional 217,415 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 2,727.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,326,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,468,000 after buying an additional 2,243,961 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,797,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,578,000 after buying an additional 9,188 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 314.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,383,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $143,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.