Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 818,273 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,489,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 818,273 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $706,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,046,000 after purchasing an additional 51,633 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,435,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,419,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,638,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on JEF. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $45.75 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.97 and a 200-day moving average of $42.59. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.12 and a 1 year high of $47.87. 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 $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50 and a beta of 1.33.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.36%.

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.