O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 143 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Stifel Financial by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 8.4 %

SF opened at $78.82 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 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 (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.86.

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.