Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Trims Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lowered its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 72.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,282 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $286,476,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,153,000 after acquiring an additional 167,270 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,987,000 after acquiring an additional 344,409 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,645,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,028,000 after acquiring an additional 47,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $52.17 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.72 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

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.