Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 71,881 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,598,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,881 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.78% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $98,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 297,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,793,000 after purchasing an additional 13,801 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 23.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $81,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,925,000 after acquiring an additional 34,295 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $76.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $72.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57 and a beta of 1.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $38.58 and a one year high of $82.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 59.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 over the last quarter. 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.