Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 223,400 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.37% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $59,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.15. 1,170,475 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,091,471. The company has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.17. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

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.