Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 23.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 757 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SF. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $265,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,543,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 268.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 6,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SF opened at $110.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 1.08. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.84. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $65.63 and a twelve month high of $119.12.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SF shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.57.

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.