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

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 93.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 290,867 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,007,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,403 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $52.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.86. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.