Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 62.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,909 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.62.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Bragar Eagel & Squire said it is investigating Jefferies on behalf of stockholders and is encouraging investors who suffered losses to contact the firm, adding to litigation concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP also announced an investigation into claims on behalf of Jefferies investors, reinforcing concerns that securities-fraud or class-action litigation could be ahead. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Other Jefferies-related market commentary in the feed focuses on analyst calls in unrelated names, including upgrades and target changes for Shopify, Deckers, Leidos, Pan American Silver, and Zealand Pharma, which are not direct catalysts for JEF. Article Title

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of JEF opened at $54.08 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.39. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid 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 currently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.