Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. lessened its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 71.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,608 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $313,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 507.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 132,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,111,000 after purchasing an additional 110,922 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 28.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 29,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 9.7 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $54.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.00 and a 200-day moving average of $69.41.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. 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.