Bfsg LLC Sells 2,190 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Bfsg LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,190 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876,529 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $88,852,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $58,211,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 510,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,148,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.11. 1,054,818 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,139,124. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.50. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $59.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

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.