Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) Competitors

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) and Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, community ranking and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer SF or PIPR?

In the previous week, Stifel Financial had 4 more articles in the media than Piper Sandler Companies. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Stifel Financial and 2 mentions for Piper Sandler Companies. Stifel Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.66 beat Piper Sandler Companies' score of 0.52 indicating that Piper Sandler Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stifel Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Piper Sandler Companies	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation and earnings, SF or PIPR?

Stifel Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Piper Sandler Companies. Stifel Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Piper Sandler Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stifel Financial	$4.35B	1.91	$522.54M	$4.40	18.40
Piper Sandler Companies	$1.35B	2.78	$85.49M	$5.88	36.02

Do analysts prefer SF or PIPR?

Stifel Financial presently has a consensus price target of $84.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.39%. Piper Sandler Companies has a consensus price target of $181.50, indicating a potential downside of 14.30%. Given Piper Sandler Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Stifel Financial is more favorable than Piper Sandler Companies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stifel Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Piper Sandler Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is SF or PIPR a better dividend stock?

Stifel Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Piper Sandler Companies pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Stifel Financial pays out 38.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Piper Sandler Companies pays out 40.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Stifel Financial has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Stifel Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, SF or PIPR?

Stifel Financial has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Piper Sandler Companies has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in SF or PIPR?

Piper Sandler Companies received 104 more outperform votes than Stifel Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 57.19% of users gave Piper Sandler Companies an outperform vote while only 55.56% of users gave Stifel Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Stifel Financial	Outperform Votes 270 55.56%	Underperform Votes 216 44.44%
Piper Sandler Companies	Outperform Votes 374 57.19%	Underperform Votes 280 42.81%

Is SF or PIPR more profitable?

Stifel Financial has a net margin of 11.34% compared to Stifel Financial's net margin of 7.33%. Stifel Financial's return on equity of 13.65% beat Piper Sandler Companies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stifel Financial	11.34%	12.40%	1.51%
Piper Sandler Companies	7.33%	13.65%	8.85%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in SF or PIPR?

82.0% of Stifel Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Piper Sandler Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Stifel Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Piper Sandler Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Stifel Financial beats Piper Sandler Companies on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.