Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 8,080 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 394,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,080 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $15,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,093.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,829,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,549 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,282,000 after acquiring an additional 646,666 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,265,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,337,000 after acquiring an additional 562,810 shares during the period. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,126.9% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 587,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,737,000 after acquiring an additional 539,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,037,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $44.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $47.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 1.36.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.