Aviva PLC Has $1.20 Million Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEFFree Report) by 57.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,916 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $244,895,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 66.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 52,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 128,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 70.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $36.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 1.43. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.34 and a 12-month high of $40.80.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEFGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 6.23%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph S. Steinberg sold 218,792 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.85, for a total value of $8,062,485.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 16,673,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,416,706.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Chairman Joseph S. Steinberg sold 225,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.87, for a total transaction of $8,081,905.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 16,225,385 shares in the company, valued at $582,004,559.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph S. Steinberg sold 218,792 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.85, for a total value of $8,062,485.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 16,673,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,416,706.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 578,320 shares of company stock valued at $20,948,017. 20.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $36.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. TheStreet upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Read Our Latest Report on Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc engages in the investment banking and capital markets, and asset management businesses in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. 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, restructurings or recapitalizations and private capital advisory transactions; equity and debt underwriting; and corporate lending.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF)

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