Boston Partners Reduces Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Boston Partners lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,033 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,990,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,374,000 after acquiring an additional 578,013 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $5,469,000. FORA Capital LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 328.4% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 44,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 34,282 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $610,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.9% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 17,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $57.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.98 and its 200 day moving average is $57.12.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 7.40%.The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $55.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.