Boston Common Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,484 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $9,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 owns 14,971,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 41.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.74. 1,636,852 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,397,993. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.63. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.77 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

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.