Analysts Set Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Price Target at $95.31

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.3125.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Piper Sandler Companies from $115.25 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Northland Securities upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America started coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $96.25 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.50 price target on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR opened at $73.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.54. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $95.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.81.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $2.16. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 21.85%. The firm had revenue of $635.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.52 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Piper Sandler Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Piper Sandler Companies’s payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 20,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $1,839,187.60. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 11,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,467.04. The trade was a 64.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,128,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,954,000 after buying an additional 17,964 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 716,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,087,000 after acquiring an additional 17,694 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 248,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,066,000 after purchasing an additional 47,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 4th quarter worth $79,239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.