Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Weak on Municipal Bonds

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) has bee performing strongly in the equity and capital markets, according to Ticonderoga Securities, but has been weaker in the bond market.

Ticonderoga said, "Q4’10 has been a strong quarter across most business lines for SF, with retail activity picking up and equity capital markets building on what was a strong September. The one weak spot is municipal bonds, which represented 18% of long inventory at the end of Q3’10 and have accounted for roughly 16% of principal transaction revenue this year (6% of total revenues). In accordance with the improvement both during the quarter and in our outlook for 2011, we are raising our Q4’10 and 2011 adjusted EPS estimates to $0.85 and $3.65, respectively, from $0.84 and $3.21 previously."

Ticonderoga maintains a "Neutral" on Stifel Financial, which last closed at $62.20, up $0.20, or 0.32 percent.