L & S Advisors Inc Lowers Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 748 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $52.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.47. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly 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 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

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.