M&T Bank Corp Has $2.21 Million Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted 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 during the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 46,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $409,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $45.84 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.33 and a 12-month high of $47.39. The stock has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.63 and its 200-day moving average is $39.95.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.