Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

• Kratos Defense Is Changing Warfare—Here’s What’s Driving It

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $131.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.40.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SF

Stifel Financial Trading Down 1.4%

• Analysts Upgrade GXO Logistics, Its First Quarter Says It All

SF opened at $129.80 on Thursday. Stifel Financial has a fifty-two week low of $73.27 and a fifty-two week high of $133.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $118.60 and its 200 day moving average is $111.87.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 12.44%.The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 134.7% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 19,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 11,253 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 18.4% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the first quarter valued at $224,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $28,564,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 82.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 7,209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

About Stifel Financial

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles

• Five stocks we like better than Stifel Financial
• 3 Small Caps With Big Return Potential
• Adobe Gets Post-Earnings Lift: Long-Term Outlook Favors Upside
• What is Forex and How Does it Work?
• MarketBeat Week in Review – 12/8 - 12/12
• Biggest Stock Losers - Today’s Biggest Percentage Decliners
• Synopsys Sees Bullish Shift as Ansys Integration Drives Growth

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Stifel Financial Right Now?

Before you consider Stifel Financial, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Stifel Financial wasn't on the list.

While Stifel Financial currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here