Wall Street Zen Upgrades Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) to Buy

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PIPR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $368.00 to $386.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 target price on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:PIPR opened at $373.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $351.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $339.68. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.53. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $202.91 and a fifty-two week high of $380.26.

Shares of Piper Sandler Companies are set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $635.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total transaction of $443,851.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,384,893.25. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 3,000 shares of Piper Sandler Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at $18,006,735.18. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,767 shares of company stock valued at $2,937,921 over the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Company Profile

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.