Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Bought by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,503 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SF. Citigroup lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 4.0 %

SF stock opened at $102.23 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.87. 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 12-month low of $73.51 and a 12-month high of $120.64. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.