Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 2,195 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Lafayette Investments Inc. cut its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 185,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,195 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for approximately 1.9% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 567,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 8,645 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 10,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 25,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $41.51. The stock had a trading volume of 647,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,045,097. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.80 and a 200 day moving average of $38.95. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $47.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

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.