On March 20, this financial firm will become part of the S&P 500 index. The added visibility should help propel the company to the double-digit growth that Wall Street is expecting.
Raymond James Financial (RJF)
From U.S. Investment Report
The daily download of stock market reports brings forth tons of verbiage about New York financial giants like JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS). But you might also take a look at Raymond James Financial (RJF) of St. Petersburg, FL, which is not exactly a pip-squeak in size and investment attractiveness. Founded modestly in 1962, not in the 19th Century like the New Yorkers,
RJF has grown into a diversified global financial holding company with 2,800 locations in the US, Canada, the UK and elsewhere; with client assets of $535 billion in 3 million accounts; and with a market capitalization of $7 billion. It is also a stock especially well-positioned to do well in today’s re-wakened equities market.
Begun as a brokerage firm, Raymond James has blossomed into four investment bank/brokerages in the US, Canada and the UK; four asset management firms; and four other major entities that include a commercial bank and an insurance company. RJF numbers among the top ten investment banking firms and municipal bond underwriters. It employs over 7,000 financial advisors and its security analysts cover more than 13,000 companies.
As for its own investment merits, its share price, not surprisingly, has tended to trace the same course as the overall stock market. It peaked at 60 in July 2015, plunged to 45 a month later, In the immediate wake of the November 2016 election, it shot from 58 to 70, slipped back a bit in December, but year-to-date has popped to around 77. Analysts have upped their 2017 and 2018 earnings estimates. Its valuations are attractive, at a 15.6 forward P/E, well under the current S&P 500 multiple of 18, and its PEG ratio is an alluring 0.89. In an industry group positioned to flourish in a rising stock market, with earnings expected to advance 17% a year, our 6- to 12-month target price is 90.
Stephen Quickel, U.S. Investment Report, www.usinvestmentreport.com, 215-862-0399, February 15, 2017