Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Short Interest Update

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 959,000 shares, a drop of 27.9% from the November 30th total of 1,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 582,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.57.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE SF traded down $1.06 on Friday, reaching $106.66. 330,031 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 572,093. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $110.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.73. Stifel Financial has a 12 month low of $67.61 and a 12 month high of $119.12. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 1.08. 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 released its 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 company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SF. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 148.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.