Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 331,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 32,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.16% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $13,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 157,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,752,000 after purchasing an additional 45,686 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 3,787 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,093.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,829,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,031,000 after buying an additional 1,676,549 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.50. The company had a trading volume of 811,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,914. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.33 and a 1-year high of $47.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.