Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The company traded as low as $62.61 and last traded at $62.8560, with a volume of 20,086 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.90.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of Piper Sandler Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Piper Sandler Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PIPR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 573,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,967 shares in the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 420,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,441,000 after purchasing an additional 4,036 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,753,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,445,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 41,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 9,044 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.69.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $491.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.28 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 14.51%. Piper Sandler Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Piper Sandler Companies will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.52%.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) is a U.S.-based investment bank and financial services firm that provides capital markets and advisory services to corporations, financial institutions, public entities and other organizations. Its activities include investment banking, mergers and acquisitions advisory, equity and debt offerings, private placements, restructuring advice and strategic consulting.

The company also offers institutional securities services, including equity and fixed-income research, sales and trading, and municipal finance capabilities.