Amundi Sells 61,161 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Jefferies Financial Group stake by 56.2% in the first quarter, selling 61,161 shares and retaining 47,683 shares valued at approximately $1.97 million. Institutional investors own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with two Buy ratings and five Holds. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.62.
• Jefferies reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, below the $1.16 consensus, although revenue rose 35% year over year to $2.21 billion. The company also declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend and authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program.

Amundi lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 56.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,161 shares during the period. Amundi's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 622 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $56.61 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $55.85 and its 200 day moving average is $51.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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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