LSV Asset Management Sells 1,549,263 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

LSV Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 56.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,190,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,549,263 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.56% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $48,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,231,000 after acquiring an additional 510,125 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,802,000 after buying an additional 1,406,920 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,282,000 after buying an additional 646,666 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,265,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,337,000 after purchasing an additional 562,810 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,002,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,726,000 after purchasing an additional 13,911 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.2 %

JEF traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.86. 698,065 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 972,718. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $28.81 and a one year high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.36%.

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.