Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $326.85, but opened at $315.60. Piper Sandler Companies shares last traded at $304.5330, with a volume of 36,077 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PIPR. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $368.00 to $386.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $398.00 price target on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $347.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.53.

Piper Sandler Companies shares are set to split on Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $2.16. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 14.77%.The business had revenue of $635.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Piper Sandler Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.71%.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 5,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $1,839,187.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 2,896 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,467.04. The trade was a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.21, for a total value of $1,008,630.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at $18,006,735.18. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PIPR. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $313,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 6,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 5,112 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 716,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 772.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,040,000 after acquiring an additional 13,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.