Amalgamated Bank Trims Stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Amalgamated Bank cut its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 343 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $5,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF stock opened at $103.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.70 and a 200-day moving average of $103.13. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial 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.