Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,408 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $3,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE SF opened at $102.23 on Tuesday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities increased their price target on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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 Thursday, March 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.