Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,027,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,393 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.50% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $51,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance
Shares of JEF stock opened at $56.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 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 50 day moving average price of $55.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.55.
Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.
Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 44.69%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Jefferies Financial Group
About Jefferies Financial Group
(
Free Report)
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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