Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Increases Dividend to $0.46 Per Share

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

Stifel Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 41.0% per year over the last three years. Stifel Financial has a payout ratio of 18.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Stifel Financial to earn $7.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Stifel Financial stock traded up $2.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,134,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,914. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 1.11. Stifel Financial has a twelve month low of $71.36 and a twelve month high of $119.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.31.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.92%. Research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SF. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.14.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.