Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments cut its Jefferies Financial Group position by 99.8% in the first quarter, selling more than 7.1 million shares and retaining 12,543 shares worth approximately $519,000.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on JEF, with a consensus price target of $62.62; the stock recently traded at $57.18. Jefferies’ latest quarterly results missed estimates, although revenue increased 35% year over year.
• Jefferies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 2.8% yield, and authorized a $250 million share buyback covering up to 2% of its outstanding stock.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 99.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,140,295 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $57.18 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $55.27 and its 200-day moving average is $51.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.

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