Citigroup Inc. Sells 517,146 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,607,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 517,146 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $98,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after buying an additional 1,529,218 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $58,211,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,148,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $78.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.76. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.34 and a 1 year high of $78.74.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.