Raymond James (NYSE:RJF – Get Rating) saw a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,170,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the January 15th total of 3,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
RJF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $113.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Raymond James from $127.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.86.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider George Catanese sold 3,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.02, for a total value of $397,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,505.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider George Catanese sold 3,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.02, for a total value of $397,815.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,505.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 24,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.27, for a total transaction of $2,672,260.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 267,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,764,613.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,848 shares of company stock valued at $3,782,395. Corporate insiders own 9.46% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Raymond James
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RJF. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the 1st quarter worth about $364,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Raymond James by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 28,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,195,000. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the 1st quarter valued at about $540,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Raymond James by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. 74.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Raymond James Stock Up 0.3 %
Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $111.32 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $84.86 and a 12 month high of $126.00.
Raymond James (NYSE:RJF – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 17.78%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Raymond James will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Raymond James Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 3rd were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 30th. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.40%.
About Raymond James
Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.