Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 756,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 223,400 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.37% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $59,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 10.1 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $42.43 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

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.