Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 10,400 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE JEF opened at $65.52 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.21. The company has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.