Robotti Robert Sells 3,605 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Robotti Robert lowered its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 417,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,605 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 2.5% of Robotti Robert’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Robotti Robert owned 0.20% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $18,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876,529 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $88,852,000. Strs Ohio boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,126.9% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 587,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,737,000 after acquiring an additional 539,534 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,231,000 after acquiring an additional 510,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,037,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of JEF traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $57.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,282,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,724. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.03. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.38 and a 1 year high of $57.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.66 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.30%.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

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.