Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $96.07 and traded as high as $109.74. Stifel Financial shares last traded at $108.47, with a volume of 800,560 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.57.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for 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%. Stifel Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $747,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,595 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,958,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,923,000 after purchasing an additional 860,465 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,290,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,415,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,464,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,509,000 after buying an additional 65,113 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.