Shell Asset Management Co. Cuts Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Shell Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 94.6% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 76,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,271,000 after purchasing an additional 37,047 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 35,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,742,000 after buying an additional 9,384 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF opened at $88.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 1.11. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $54.81 and a 1 year high of $88.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.97.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.18%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other Stifel Financial news, Director David A. Peacock sold 13,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $1,038,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,489,815.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SF shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Stifel Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

Stifel Financial 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.