Citigroup Inc. Has $98.93 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Citigroup Inc. cut 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,607,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 517,146 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.78% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $98,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 936,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,591,000 after buying an additional 76,327 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,925,000 after acquiring an additional 34,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE JEF opened at $78.58 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.34 and a 52 week high of $78.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued 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 59.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.