Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. reduced its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,917 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.'s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $3,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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 purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of SF stock traded up $1.72 on Monday, hitting $110.50. The stock had a trading volume of 428,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,996. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.81. 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 Corp. has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is presently 26.92%.

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.