Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 175,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,137 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $12,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,031,197,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the second quarter worth $123,551,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Stifel Financial by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $362,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $172,446,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial during the second quarter valued at about $93,235,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $80.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.04 and its 200 day moving average is $76.23. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $67.81 and a 52 week high of $89.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 24.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total transaction of $372,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,729 shares in the company, valued at $453,736.80. This trade represents a 45.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.90.

Stifel Financial Profile

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.

The firm’s main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.