Ervin Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Ervin Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 62.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 59,044 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up approximately 1.8% of Ervin Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ervin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $70,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of JEF stock traded up $1.28 on Monday, reaching $75.74. 1,636,852 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,397,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.44 and a 200-day moving average of $65.84. The company 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 Inc. has a one year low of $38.77 and a one year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151 over the last three months. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.