Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 40,880 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,880 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.17% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $27,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,153,000 after acquiring an additional 167,270 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $788,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.22. The company had a trading volume of 352,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,070,649. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $59.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.29.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.