Xponance Inc. Acquires 557 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Stifel Financial stock opened at $98.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $73.51 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.74 and a 200-day moving average of $104.75.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. On average, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

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.