Prudential Financial Inc. Has $996,000 Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,799 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $286,476,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after acquiring an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,987,000 after acquiring an additional 344,409 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,645,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,028,000 after purchasing an additional 47,141 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,394,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,353,000 after purchasing an additional 118,886 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $43.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

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.