2 Reasons SF is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Since September 2025, Stifel has been in a holding pattern, posting a small loss of 3.1% while floating around $73.06. The stock also fell short of the S&P 500’s 3.1% gain during that period.

Is there a buying opportunity in Stifel, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free.

Why Is Stifel Not Exciting?

We don't have much confidence in Stifel. Here are two reasons why SF doesn't excite us and a stock we'd rather own.

1. EPS Barely Growing

Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company's incremental sales were profitable – for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Stifel’s unimpressive 8.2% annual EPS growth over the last five years aligns with its revenue performance. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.

2. Substandard BVPS Growth Indicates Limited Asset Expansion

We consider book value per share (BVPS) a critical metric for financial firms. BVPS represents the total net worth per share, providing insight into a company’s financial strength and ability to meet its obligations.

Although Stifel’s BVPS increased by 9.4% annually over the last five years, growth has recently decelerated a bit to a mediocre 6.8% over the past two years (from $30.41 to $34.70 per share).

Final Judgment

Stifel isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. With its shares trailing the market in recent months, the stock trades at 11.3× forward P/E (or $73.06 per share). While this valuation is reasonable, we don’t really see a big opportunity at the moment. We're pretty confident there are superior stocks to buy right now. We’d suggest looking at an all-weather company that owns household favorite Taco Bell.

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