Ervin Investment Management LLC Sells 59,044 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Ervin Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 62.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,044 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises about 1.8% of Ervin Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ervin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $286,476,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,218 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 157.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 802,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,905,000 after purchasing an additional 490,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $16,125,655.20. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,424,460.40. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock valued at $76,381,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $75.74 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.44 and a 200-day moving average of $65.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.77 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

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.