Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 355,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,370 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $27,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $54.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.07 and a 200 day moving average of $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

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.