Corebridge Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.1%, now owning 180,457 shares valued at approximately $9.67 million.
• Several other institutional investors have made significant changes to their holdings in Jefferies Financial Group, with some increasing their stakes by over 193%.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported earnings of $0.40 per share, missing the consensus estimate by 4 cents, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Corebridge Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,890 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $9,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,412,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,307,000 after purchasing an additional 246,578 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,805,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $141,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,785 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,035,000 after purchasing an additional 232,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $58,972,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $64.89. 1,450,721 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,469,195. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick 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 net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.