Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Stake Lifted by Channing Capital Management LLC

Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,128,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 136,784 shares during the period. Stifel Financial accounts for approximately 2.3% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $78,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 10.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 115,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,089,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 21.8% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Stifel Financial by 1,054.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of Stifel Financial stock traded up $0.94 on Friday, hitting $81.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 509,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,984. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 1.14. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $54.81 and a 52-week high of $82.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.18%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other news, Director David A. Peacock sold 13,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total value of $1,038,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,489,815.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David A. Peacock sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total value of $1,038,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,489,815.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,421 shares of company stock valued at $5,639,783 over the last three months. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

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.