First Financial Bankshares Inc Invests $1.83 Million in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 17,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,829,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after buying an additional 41,171 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,759,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 4,308.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SF opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.49. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, 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 $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

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.