Amalgamated Bank Sells 1,310 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Amalgamated Bank decreased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,310 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Elequin Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,577.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.13. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 7.40%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

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.