Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 208,598 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 57.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 208,598 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $8,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 45,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 5,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.08 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.33. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.