Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Stock

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $143.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 9.64% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on RJF. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $169.00 price objective (up previously from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.00.

Raymond James Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE RJF traded up $4.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.05. 3,879,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,154,512. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $171.38. The stock has a market cap of $31.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.74% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Raymond James by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 5.1% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3.9% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 0.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company's stock.

About Raymond James

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.