Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SF. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Stifel Financial stock opened at $95.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.24. 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 Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

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.