Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $1.97 Million Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,413 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 316.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 69,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,400,000 after buying an additional 52,991 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth $406,000. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $2,759,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SF opened at $113.87 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.40 and a fifty-two week high of $119.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $110.78 and a 200-day moving average of $97.65. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.14.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In other Stifel Financial news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stifel Financial Profile

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.