Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 201,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $21,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 62.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 41,171 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,759,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 4,308.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SF opened at $96.86 on Tuesday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $73.51 and a one year high of $120.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.44.

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%. As a group, analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SF. 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 target on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

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.