Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 27.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SF shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SF traded down $0.46 on Wednesday, hitting $107.92. The stock had a trading volume of 788,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 737,848. The company's 50-day moving average is $110.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.41. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $120.64. The stock has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. On average, analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is presently 26.92%.

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.