Bank of America Lowers PT On SF To $46

Bank of America is lowering its price target from $49 to $46 on Stifel Financial Corp. SF after a 1Q miss. In the report, Bank of America writes, “SF's IB effort continues to gain traction with 1Q still being one of its best quarters ever, and management comments suggest continued progress is being made, particularly as synergies with TWPG emerge (e.g. Tech pipeline building). Seasonal decline in 1Q was expected (particularly given some large, lumpy closings in 4Q), but SF's profile in IB is clearly growing (e.g., bookrun 11% of IPOs so far in 2011, but pipe is 24% bookrun transactions).” Bank of America maintains a Neutral rating on the stock. SF closed at $43.01 yesterday.