Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,365 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.05% of Stifel Financial worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,461,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $817,794,000 after purchasing an additional 391,384 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 929.9% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 296,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,957,000 after buying an additional 267,777 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 7.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,932,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $229,199,000 after acquiring an additional 191,896 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the second quarter worth $7,415,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial during the first quarter valued at $5,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SF traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.00. The stock had a trading volume of 161,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $59.25 and a 12-month high of $117.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.56 and a 200-day moving average of $86.87. The company has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 15.11%. Stifel Financial's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.33.

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.