Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $106.10 and last traded at $105.51, with a volume of 62229 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities upped their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.33.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $92.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Stifel Financial's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Stifel Financial by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,461,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $817,794,000 after purchasing an additional 391,384 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 929.9% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 296,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,957,000 after acquiring an additional 267,777 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 7.0% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,932,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $229,199,000 after acquiring an additional 191,896 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $7,415,000. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC now owns 184,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,433,000 after purchasing an additional 85,934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

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.