Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $67.67 and last traded at $67.7790, with a volume of 332,204 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Capital One Financial set a $75.00 target price on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.08.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.16.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 16.11%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryam Brown sold 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,736.80. This trade represents a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SF. Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $5,520,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 430.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 73,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,470,000 after purchasing an additional 60,042 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 21.4% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 299,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,913,000 after buying an additional 52,778 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $123,551,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 716.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 585,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,874,000 after purchasing an additional 514,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company provides wealth management, investment banking, institutional brokerage, equity and fixed-income research, securities trading, and asset management services.

Its wealth management business serves individual investors, families, businesses, and institutions through financial planning, investment advisory, brokerage, banking, and related services.