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

Fox Run Management L.L.C. decreased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 71.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,608 shares during the quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $788,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 9.7 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $54.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.41. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 53.69%.

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.