Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 94.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,047 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $5,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SF. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 58,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,957,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 118.2% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 81,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,808,000 after purchasing an additional 44,219 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 8.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 57,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,405 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 165,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $550,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SF. Citigroup increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $75.31 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $54.81 and a 52-week high of $78.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 1.18.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.19. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Stifel Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.25%.

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.