Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC

ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC cut its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,534 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises about 0.2% of ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $8,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 10,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $407,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $219,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $63.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,437,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,209. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.60. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm's revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

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.