Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by StockNews.com

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

SF has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE SF traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.05. 425,433 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,318. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial has a 52-week low of $54.81 and a 52-week high of $79.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.94 and its 200-day moving average is $69.23.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SF. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the third quarter worth about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 97.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 39.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 336.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.