Great Lakes Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted 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 worth $75,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 2.4 %

SF opened at $95.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 1.08. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $73.51 and a twelve month high of $120.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. Sell-side analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 29.49%.

Stifel Financial Company 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.