Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SF. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment 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, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 1.6 %

SF traded down $1.70 on Tuesday, reaching $103.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 702,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,525. Stifel Financial has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $120.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.61 and its 200 day moving average is $103.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 7,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

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.