Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 345,092 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor 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 investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $487,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $71.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.09 and its 200 day moving average is $68.41. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.86 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.