Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PIPR. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $368.00 to $386.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 price objective on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:PIPR opened at $309.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $348.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.36. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.53. Piper Sandler Companies has a 12 month low of $202.91 and a 12 month high of $380.26.

Piper Sandler Companies’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $2.16. The firm had revenue of $635.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.52 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 14.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.80 EPS.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.71%.

Insider Transactions at Piper Sandler Companies

In related news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 5,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $1,839,187.60. Following the sale, the president owned 2,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,467.04. The trade was a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.21, for a total transaction of $1,008,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,006,735.18. This trade represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 20.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 44,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,977,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 46.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.