Insider Selling: Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) COO Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $115.57. The company had a trading volume of 457,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,007. The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92 and a beta of 1.08. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $60.17 and a 12-month high of $118.12. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.99.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Stifel Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 16.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 8.2% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 52,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 5.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 134,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,551,000 after purchasing an additional 6,702 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,251,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 51,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 4,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.