Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Sold by First Pacific Advisors LP

First Pacific Advisors LP lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,580,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises approximately 2.0% of First Pacific Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. First Pacific Advisors LP owned 1.25% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $141,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 8,229 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $55.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.84. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on JEF shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.