Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SF. Barclays PLC boosted its stake 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 bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,759,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,595 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,413 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 3.2 %

SF stock opened at $93.92 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $73.51 and a one year high of $120.64. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $105.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SF. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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 upped their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

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.