Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 28,475 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,006,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,475 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $94,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,189,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,058,000 after acquiring an additional 7,348 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 202,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,613 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 3,323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE SF opened at $104.49 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $66.64 and a 52 week high of $119.12. The firm has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other Stifel Financial news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at $18,544,535.42. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.57.

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.