Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 3,669 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,700,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,669 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $180,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 26.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Stifel Financial by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SF. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.86.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SF opened at $78.82 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $103.18 and its 200 day moving average is $105.36. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. Research analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Stifel Financial Company 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.