Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $8.35 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 57.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 152,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 208,598 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $8,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 94.0% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 4,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 85.8% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 26.6% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,290 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 21.0% in the second quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 7,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.9% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 169,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,267,000 after purchasing an additional 20,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.08 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

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.