M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 64.6% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 10,830 shares valued at about $671,000.
• Jefferies reported Q2 earnings of $0.70 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.89, while revenue came in at $2.02 billion and rose 26.6% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equal to a 3.1% annualized yield, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $58.14.

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 64.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,771 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $4,011,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 927.8% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 23,474 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 245.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 651,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,603,000 after purchasing an additional 462,546 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 284.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 226,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,835,000 after purchasing an additional 167,817 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

JEF stock opened at $52.32 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 6.61%.The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.14.

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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