Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 224,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,967 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $9,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876,529 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,046,000 after acquiring an additional 51,633 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,852,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,707,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,298,000 after acquiring an additional 199,662 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 4.0 %

JEF stock traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.78. 728,760 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,119,128. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.38 and a 12-month high of $57.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.