Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,165,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 345,092 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 3.00% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $487,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 55,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,375,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE JEF traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,110,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,565,591. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.69 and a 200 day moving average of $68.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.67 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

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.