Raymond James (RJF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 on April 15th

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

Raymond James has increased its dividend by an average of 18.2% annually over the last three years. Raymond James has a payout ratio of 16.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Raymond James to earn $12.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.6%.

Raymond James Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of RJF stock opened at $138.97 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.42. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The stock has a market cap of $28.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. Analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on RJF shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.55.

Raymond James Company Profile

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.