StockNews.com Downgrades Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) to Hold

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

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Monday, September 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.67.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SF opened at $95.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.86 and a 200-day moving average of $82.37. Stifel Financial has a one year low of $54.81 and a one year high of $96.89. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 1,818.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 388.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Stifel Financial

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.