Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 26.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 161,514 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.21% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $23,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 246,578 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% in the 4th 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 period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,035,000 after acquiring an additional 232,237 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted 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, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 655,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,403,000 after purchasing an additional 57,964 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of JEF traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,297,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,503. The company has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company's fifty day moving average price is $56.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.67.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.