Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Receives $117.71 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.71.

Several analysts have commented on SF shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stifel Financial news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,595 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,958,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,923,000 after purchasing an additional 860,465 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $162,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter worth about $12,290,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $11,936,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 2.9 %

SF stock traded down $3.30 on Friday, reaching $110.11. 343,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 701,428. Stifel Financial has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $120.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.06.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.