Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $126.22.

RJF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $131.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Raymond James from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James news, Director Art A. Garcia bought 879 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,711.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Art A. Garcia purchased 879 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,711.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider James E. Bunn sold 11,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.44, for a total transaction of $1,380,661.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,845,817.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in Raymond James by 105.0% in the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Raymond James during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 32.9% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF opened at $125.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.97. The firm has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $84.06 and a 1 year high of $131.19.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.01). Raymond James had a return on equity of 18.24% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Raymond James will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.77%.

Raymond James Company Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.