Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $2,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 148.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Stifel Financial stock opened at $103.94 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $120.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 1.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.