Stifel Financial Corp (SF)
NYSE:SF
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Stifel Financial
(NYSE:SF)
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Rating:70Outperform
Price Target:
$88.00
â–²(10.57% Upside)
Action:UpgradedDate:03/27/26
The score reflects solid financial footing (notably improved leverage and healthy returns) and favorable valuation (moderate P/E with a ~2.16% yield), reinforced by a positive earnings call with constructive 2026 guidance and strong capital metrics. These positives are tempered by weak technical momentum (below key moving averages with a negative MACD) and some fundamental pressure from margin compression and choppy/declining free cash flow.
Positive Factors
Improved leverage and balance sheet
Material deleveraging to a ~0.14 debt-to-equity ratio and steadier equity levels materially increase financial flexibility, lowering refinancing and covenant risk. That stronger capital structure supports sustained investment in growth, M&A advisory capacity, and dividend/share buybacks over coming quarters.
Negative Factors
Margin compression
Sustained margin erosion from peak levels indicates structural pressure on profitability from mix shifts, transactional declines, and higher non‑interest expenses. Persistently lower margins reduce earnings sensitivity to revenue growth and make meeting historical return targets harder absent durable expense or pricing gains.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Improved leverage and balance sheet
Material deleveraging to a ~0.14 debt-to-equity ratio and steadier equity levels materially increase financial flexibility, lowering refinancing and covenant risk. That stronger capital structure supports sustained investment in growth, M&A advisory capacity, and dividend/share buybacks over coming quarters.
Read all positive factors
Stifel Financial (SF) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$12.32B
Dividend Yield1.43%
Average Volume (3M)1.40M
Price to Earnings (P/E)12.5
Beta (1Y)1.30
Revenue Growth7.54%
EPS Growth2.73%
CountryUS
Employees8,887
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryFinancial - Capital Markets
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.75
Shares Outstanding154,787,920
10 Day Avg. Volume1,249,761
30 Day Avg. Volume1,399,956
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-2.09
Price to Book (P/B)1.44
Price to Sales (P/S)1.36
P/FCF Ratio7.14
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.97
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit2.27
Enterprise Value/Ebitda12.14
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$86.00Price Target Upside8.05% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering4
EPS Forecast (FY)6.22
Revenue Forecast (FY)$6.08B
Stifel Financial Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
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 State...
How the Company Makes Money
Stifel primarily makes money through a mix of fee-based and transaction-based financial services revenue. In its Global Wealth Management business, revenue is generated from (1) advisory and asset management fees charged as a percentage of client ...
Stifel Financial Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jan 28, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed strong operational and financial momentum: record full-year and quarterly revenue, robust wealth and institutional performance (notably a very strong investment banking quarter), improving operating leverage, solid capital position, and constructive 2026 guidance. Headwinds included weaker fixed income/transactional revenue, a first-quarter legal accrual and some minor misses versus consensus, and the removal of ~$100 million of revenue due to the SIA sale and European equities exit. On balance, the positives (record results, strong recruiting, capital returns, and bullish guidance) materially outweigh the lowlights.Positive Updates
Record Annual Revenue
Firm-wide revenue of $5.5 billion in 2025, up 11% year-over-year, marking the first time Stifel surpassed $5 billion in revenue.
Negative Updates
Transactional and Fixed Income Revenue Pressure
Transactional revenue was 4% below expectations for the quarter and transactional revenue declined 10% YoY; fixed income revenue declined ~18% YoY, driven by government shutdown impacts and timing of prior-period gains.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Annual Revenue
Firm-wide revenue of $5.5 billion in 2025, up 11% year-over-year, marking the first time Stifel surpassed $5 billion in revenue.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Stifel's 2026 guidance calls for total net revenue of $6.0–$6.35 billion (note this excludes roughly $100 million of prior-year revenue from the SIA sale and the European equities exit), firmwide net interest income of $1.1–$1.2 billion supported by about $4 billion of balance-sheet growth (roughly $2 billion average interest‑earning asset increase), global wealth NII of $275–$285 million, an implied NIM near ~320 bps, and improved operating leverage with a targeted compensation ratio of 56.5%–57.5% and a non‑compensation operating ratio of 18%–20%; management also cited continued deposit momentum (roughly $750 million–$1 billion of incremental deposits per quarter as a reasonable expectation) and began 2026 with more than $560 million of excess Tier 1 leverage capital.Stifel Financial Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
67
Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
70
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 6.30B | 5.89B | 5.10B | 4.54B | 4.72B |
| Gross Profit | 5.45B | 4.88B | 4.27B | 4.30B | 4.69B |
| EBITDA | 933.50M | 1.01B | 788.15M | 955.33M | 1.13B |
| Net Income | 683.78M | 731.38M | 522.54M | 662.15M | 824.86M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 41.59B | 39.90B | 37.73B | 37.20B | 34.05B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 2.28B | 3.00B | 3.68B | 3.84B | 4.08B |
| Total Debt | 2.18B | 2.77B | 2.92B | 1.84B | 2.32B |
| Total Liabilities | 35.61B | 34.21B | 32.43B | 31.87B | 29.01B |
| Stockholders Equity | 5.98B | 5.69B | 5.29B | 5.33B | 5.03B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 1.20B | 416.65M | 447.35M | 1.08B | 683.92M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 1.26B | 490.44M | 499.33M | 1.16B | 872.09M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -1.76B | -2.31B | 1.04B | -4.32B | -6.97B |
| Financing Cash Flow | 91.25M | 980.10M | -254.58M | 3.19B | 5.79B |
Stifel Financial Technical Analysis
Positive
79.59
Price Trends
76.08
Positive
79.93
Positive
77.35
Positive
Market Momentum
1.01
Negative
70.79
Negative
95.25
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For SF, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 79.59 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 73.72, above the 50-day MA of 76.08, and above the 200-day MA of 77.35, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.01 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 70.79 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 95.25 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for SF.
Stifel Financial Risk Analysis
Stifel Financial disclosed 27 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Stifel Financial reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Stifel Financial Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $6.10B | 20.12 | 22.08% | 1.63% | 12.77% | 36.43% | |
70 Outperform | $12.32B | 12.55 | 11.96% | 1.43% | 7.54% | 2.73% | |
70 Outperform | $13.88B | 25.51 | 33.81% | 0.95% | 27.00% | 63.47% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
64 Neutral | $10.89B | 24.90 | 20.14% | 1.33% | 20.99% | 25.02% | |
60 Neutral | $4.53B | 19.99 | 30.96% | 4.06% | 1.58% | 1.93% | |
49 Neutral | $9.45B | 13.64 | 7.08% | 2.52% | -5.41% | 25.28% |
* Financial Sector Average
SF
Stifel Financial
80.66
24.50
43.64%
EVR
Evercore Partners
357.61
177.12
98.13%
JEF
Jefferies
47.06
4.16
9.70%
LAZ
Lazard
50.02
15.67
45.61%
PIPR
Piper Sandler
87.31
32.62
59.63%
HLI
Houlihan Lokey
159.07
7.12
4.69%
Stifel Financial Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Stifel Highlights Growth in Client Assets and Investment Banking
Positive
Mar 26, 2026
On March 26, 2026, Stifel Financial Corp. reported selected operating data for Feb. 28, 2026, highlighting growth in core client assets following the Feb. 2, 2026 sale of Stifel Independent Advisors, LLC. Excluding assets tied to the divested unit...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Stifel Financial Reports Record Client Assets and Deposits
Positive
Feb 26, 2026
On February 26, 2026, Stifel Financial Corp. reported selected unaudited operating data as of January 31, 2026, highlighting record total client assets of $561.1 billion and fee-based client assets of $229.4 billion, up 10% and 16% year over year,...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Stifel Financial Expands Credit Facility with New Agreement
Positive
Feb 4, 2026
On February 4, 2026, Stifel Financial Corp. and its brokerage subsidiary Stifel Nicolaus Company entered into an amended and restated unsecured revolving credit agreement with a lender syndicate led by Bank of America, replacing and terminating c...
DividendsFinancial DisclosuresStock Split
Stifel Financial Announces Stock Split and Dividend Increase
Positive
Jan 28, 2026
On January 28, 2026, Stifel Financial reported record full-year 2025 net revenues of $5.53 billion, up from $4.97 billion in 2024, driven by higher investment banking, asset management, transactional revenues, and net interest income, while GAAP n...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.