Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,296 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 62.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 41,171 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $2,759,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 4,308.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,595 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SF. UBS Group lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SF opened at $98.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.08. 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 one year low of $73.51 and a one year high of $120.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.41.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio 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.