Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. decreased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,086,000 after buying an additional 41,171 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,759,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 4,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,122,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,188,000 after purchasing an additional 31,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SF. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.86.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SF opened at $78.82 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.25. Stifel Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $73.51 and a fifty-two week high of $120.64. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 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.