Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Purchased by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,728 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.29% of Stifel Financial worth $20,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,802,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,172,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 187.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,220,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,068 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,201,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,816,000 after acquiring an additional 38,575 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,728,000 after acquiring an additional 518,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 992,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 46,902 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE SF opened at $80.80 on Tuesday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $54.81 and a 52-week high of $80.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.65. The firm has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.13). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Stifel Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SF shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

Insider Activity

In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,125,150.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.52% of the company’s stock.

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.