Stifel’s stock drops after big miss on Q3 earnings estimate partly due to non-recurring legal accruals

Stifel Financial Corp.’s stock
SFL,
+0.55%
dropped 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the investment bank and financial services company’s third-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share missed the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.29 a share. Stifel also had non-recurring legal costs of 58 cents a share related to the industry review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of off-channel communications. Adding that cost back into its earnings would have brought the figure up to $1.18 a share. Revenue of $1.05 billion fell short of the analyst forecast of $1.07 billion. Stifel Chief Executive Ronald J. Kruszewski said the company’s results were solid despite challenging market conditions. “Although the near-term environment remains uncertain, we remain well positioned to generate stable returns and strong growth as the market improves,” he said.