Axiom Investors LLC DE Raises Stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,039 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $23,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SF. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $93.92 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $73.51 and a 12-month high of $120.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. 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.