PGGM Investments Has $2.91 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

PGGM Investments raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 41.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,430 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 376.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 14,641 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,462,000 after buying an additional 77,131 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 10,525 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 10,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $111,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 3.9 %

NYSE JEF traded down $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,767,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,775. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.38 and a 52 week high of $59.30. The company has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.43.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 66.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.