Swiss National Bank Grows Stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Stifel Financial worth $21,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE SF opened at $96.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.44. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $73.51 and a 52 week high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 29.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SF has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Profile

Stifel Financial Corp., a financial services and bank holding company, provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other.