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

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,040,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 149,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.49% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $45,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 59,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.84. 1,517,268 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,732. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.38 and a 1 year high of $54.45. The company has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.69.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.