StockNews.com Downgrades Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) to Hold

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Stifel Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.67.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

NYSE SF traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.74. 373,396 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,221. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $86.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.29. Stifel Financial has a fifty-two week low of $54.81 and a fifty-two week high of $94.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,461,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $817,794,000 after purchasing an additional 391,384 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $24,957,000 after buying an additional 267,777 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $229,199,000 after buying an additional 191,896 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Stifel Financial by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,332,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,143,000 after buying an additional 151,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,415,000. 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.