Bfsg LLC Cuts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Bfsg LLC cut its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 758.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $48.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.92. The company has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.75.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.