Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $7,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors 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 lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 24.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SF stock opened at $106.10 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 1.11. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $120.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.13.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 29.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.71.

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.