Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,275,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 79,516 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.41% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $818,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 110.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,933,000 after purchasing an additional 140,037 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 15,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $259,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $35,122,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $61.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.38%.

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.