Comerica Bank Sells 11,772 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 15%, selling 11,772 shares and leaving them with 66,449 shares valued at approximately $3.56 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Jefferies Financial Group's stock price recently dropped by 0.9%, with a current market value of $64.89, and its earnings per share of $0.40 missed the consensus estimate by $0.04.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a yield of 2.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 60.38% as per their latest announcement.

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,772 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JEF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,822 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $58,972,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,805,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,785 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.8% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 798,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,749,000 after acquiring an additional 373,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $14,814,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $64.89 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.99 and a 200 day moving average of $54.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.

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