Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Sells 361,909 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lessened its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,494,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 361,909 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up 3.2% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 1.21% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $124,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,799,000 after buying an additional 936,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,852,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 34,295 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,707,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,298,000 after purchasing an additional 199,662 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $58.54 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.94. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.38 and a twelve month high of $59.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This is an increase 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 2.39%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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.

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.