Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,983 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Stifel Financial worth $5,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SF opened at $94.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.08. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $73.51 and a twelve month high of $120.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.41.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 29.49%.

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.