Amundi Has $166,000 Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Amundi lowered its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 99.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 639,893 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $59.46 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.69%.

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.