Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Jefferies Financial Group stake by 56% in the first quarter, selling 76,085 shares and retaining 59,784 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook, with two Buy ratings and five Holds; the stock has an average target price of $62.62 versus a recent price of $55.14.
• 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 authorized a $250 million share-repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, yielding about 2.9% annually.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 76,085 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% in the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $55.14 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.54.

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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The firm's revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

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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