Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Jefferies Financial Group stake by 93.4% in the first quarter, leaving it with 20,552 shares worth about $848,000.
• Jefferies recently reported Q2 earnings of $1.02 per share, missing analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $2.21 billion versus expectations of $2.30 billion, though revenue still rose 35% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share and a new $250 million share repurchase program, signaling a 3.0% annualized yield and up to 2% of shares eligible for buybacks.

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 93.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 290,867 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $1,007,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 29,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 6,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.62 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $53.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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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