Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 262,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,045 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $27,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 148.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of SF stock opened at $103.85 on Wednesday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The stock’s fifty 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 quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a PE 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 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.49%.

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.