Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,084 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,084 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,852,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,920 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,282,000 after acquiring an additional 646,666 shares during the period. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,126.9% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 587,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,737,000 after acquiring an additional 539,534 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,231,000 after acquiring an additional 510,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JEF. StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.47. The company had a trading volume of 719,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,338. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.83 and a 1 year high of $47.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.10.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 98.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.