Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 300,079 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 99.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 300,079 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $46.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.20 and a 200 day moving average of $66.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.29. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 55.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.

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