UBS Group Upgrades Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) to Strong-Buy

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 target price (up previously from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.73.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.2 %

Raymond James stock opened at $159.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.73. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $171.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total value of $571,554.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,483,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898,242 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,533,000 after purchasing an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 191.3% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 722,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,464,000 after purchasing an additional 474,443 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter valued at $34,105,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James during the third quarter worth about $28,985,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Raymond James Company Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.