Wellington Management Group LLP Raises Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,588,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 630,255 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 2.50% of Stifel Financial worth $274,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in Stifel Financial by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 41,171 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,759,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 4,413 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Stifel Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,122,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,188,000 after acquiring an additional 31,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $94.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.83 and a 200 day moving average of $105.41. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.08. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $73.51 and a 52 week high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SF. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.