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RJFRaymond James Financial, Inc.Buy Wait6.4·$161.67
RJF · Why this verdict

Why Raymond James Financial (RJF) is rated BUY WAIT

Updated

Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. How we score · Editorial policy

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Methodology · Editorial policy & full disclaimer

VerdictBUY WAIT
Overall score6.4/10
ConfidenceHIGH
MacroRISK_OFF
TrendMatrix Research · core thesis

Engine thesis — one sentence

Raymond James Financial is a high-quality wealth management franchise with a perfect Piotroski F-Score of 9/9, a confirmed wide economic moat, and consistent earnings beats, but the stock has already exceeded analyst consensus targets and sits in a confirmed short-term downtrend that limits near-term entry attractiveness.

Falsifiable statement — pillar-level invalidators below. Engine-derived; not personalized advice.

Thesis pillars

Raymond James carries a confirmed wide economic moat score of 7.6 out of 10 alongside a perfect Piotroski F-Score of 9/9, compounder-quality designation, and volume accumulation in the market, reflecting a durable competitive position in wealth management services.

↑Improving
Quality breakdown
Expectation
Moat quality indicators, including return on equity and operating margins, remain strong with Piotroski F-Score staying at 8 or above over the next 4 quarters.

CounterWealth management companies with wide moats can still face significant revenue pressure during market downturns when assets under management decline and transaction volumes fall.

At a forward P/E of 11.6x with a PEG ratio of 0.87, the company is attractively valued for a wide-moat wealth manager, and positive LLM news sentiment of +0.40 and analyst consensus buy ratings support the fundamental attractiveness.

→Stable
Valuation breakdown
Expectation
Forward P/E expands toward 14x within 12 months as the market recognizes the combination of moat quality and earnings consistency.

CounterThe stock is already trading above analyst consensus price targets, meaning a further multiple expansion would require analysts to raise targets materially, which is uncertain given the confirmed downtrend in price.

The company has beaten earnings estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters with consistent beats of 0.54%, 0.90%, and 9.97%, demonstrating stable and predictable earnings delivery around consensus expectations.

↓Deteriorating
Earnings
Expectation
Earnings beats continue in at least 3 of the next 4 quarters, with EPS remaining above $2.50 per quarter.

CounterThe one miss in July 2025 saw a -7.5% shortfall, and the narrow beats in the most recent two quarters (0.54% and 0.90%) suggest earnings have converged very close to consensus, leaving little buffer for positive surprise.

Despite strong fundamental quality, the stock is in a confirmed downtrend with the 200-day moving average slope declining at -1.1% per month and volume accumulation (rising on-balance volume) insufficient to reverse the price trend.

↑Improving
Momentum breakdown
Expectation
The stock recovers above a flat to positive 200-day moving average slope within 6 months as fundamental quality reasserts itself.

CounterDeath cross patterns in high-quality wealth managers tend to resolve within 3 to 6 months, and the improving MACD trend and rising on-balance volume suggest a reversal may be forming.

Per-dimension breakdown

Value

7.8/10data confidence 83%
ComponentSub-score
P/E8.3
P/S9.0
Fwd P/E9.3
PEG8.4
Analyst target4.0
  • ▸Forward P/E: 9.9x
  • ▸PEG: 0.77
  • ▸Attractively valued

Quality

8.3/10data confidence 86%
ComponentSub-score
ROE6.2
Gross margin10.0
Op margin8.4
Net margin7.5
Moat7.6
Piotroski F10.0
  • ▸Wide economic moat
  • ▸Compounder quality: strong returns + growth
  • ▸Strong Piotroski F-Score: 9/9
  • ▸High-quality business

Growth

5.7/10data confidence 67%
ComponentSub-score
Rev growth6.3
EPS growth5.0

Momentum

6.7/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
RSI5.5
MACD10.0
OBV10.0
MA position6.0
Volume1.9
  • ▸Volume accumulation (rising OBV)
  • ▸Above 200-MA but MA slope flat

Sentiment

6.4/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
LLM sentiment5.0
Analyst rating7.2
Price target6.8

Insider

4.8/10data confidence 50%
ComponentSub-score
materiality5.0
holder change4.7
  • ▸Negligible insider selling — $1,331,981 (0.004% of mkt cap)

Peer rank

5.9/10data confidence 80%
ComponentSub-score
value rank6.3
quality rank4.7
growth rank7.7

Technical

3.2/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
bollinger0.6
support resistance1.1
52w position7.8

Risk (lower is worse)

5.7/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
short interest8.2
days to cover5.8
volatility6.8
put call0.0
implied vol6.4
max pain risk3.0
beta7.3
debt equity8.1
  • ▸Elevated put/call: 4.28
  • ▸Above max pain $100

Catalyst

6.5/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
erm5.0
earnings history10.0
earnings timing5.0
surprise avg4.9
dividend safety7.0
news activity7.0
  • ▸Perfect beat streak: 4Q

How the verdict was assembled

Engine trigger

Fundamentals strong but target reached (-1.9% upside).

Engine technical detail
verdict_path: L4:PATH_D_BALANCED|V8:TARGET_REACHED|ENTRY_STICKY:WITHIN_BAND
Passed (7)
  • MOMENTUM:6.7>=5.5
  • INSIDER:OK
  • 8K:CLEAN
  • NEWS_EVENTS:NONE_RECENT
  • EARNINGS_PROXIMITY:85d clear
  • SEMI_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
  • MATERIALS_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
Failed (1)
  • ASYMMETRY:-0.4=NEGATIVE
Warning (0)

none

Reward-to-Risk
-0.36
Upside
-1.9%
Downside
5.4%
Sizing output
STARTER

Setup— — No clear chart pattern; technical signals are mixed

EdgeNo clear edge — No clear edge identified

SuitabilityModerate — Balanced profile

Investment implication

The D-path balanced-high-score trigger fired: quality 8.3 and momentum 6.7 both cleared their gates at R:R of -0.36.

The strongest dimensions are Quality at 8.3, Value at 7.8, and Momentum at 6.7; the weakest are Technical at 3.2, Insider at 4.8, and Risk (lower is worse) at 5.7. The V9 engine flagged 1 failed gate, producing an asymmetric reward-to-risk of -0.36 and an engine sizing output of STARTER.

What would invalidate the thesis

Falsifying conditions — when triggered, the corresponding pillar's thesis is invalidated.

  • P1Wide Economic Moat Quality

    Trip ifPiotroski F-Score drops below 7 or operating margin falls below 10% in any reported period.

  • P2Earnings Beat Consistency

    Trip ifEarnings per share falls below $2.50 in at least 2 of the next 4 quarters.

  • P3Confirmed Downtrend Technical Risk

    Trip if200-day moving average slope remains negative for more than 9 consecutive months.

  • P4Attractive Valuation Metrics

    Trip ifForward P/E contracts below 9x or analyst consensus price targets decline below $140.

Engine reasoning is mechanically derived from pipeline gate outputs. See decision view.

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