Vestor Capital LLC Sells 36,198 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Vestor Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,198 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $834,947,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $127,242,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,666,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,015,000 after acquiring an additional 58,585 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $107,044,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $79,537,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $49.44 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $66.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.82 and its 200 day moving average is $50.60. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.84%.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a global financial services company whose principal business is conducted through Jefferies, its investment banking and capital markets business. Jefferies advises companies and financial sponsors on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and other strategic matters, and helps clients raise capital through debt and equity offerings. It also provides securities research, sales and trading, and related services to institutional investors and other clients.

The company serves clients across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.