Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,690 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 173.1% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 11,226 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 97,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,609,000 after purchasing an additional 7,540 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 586,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,970,000 after purchasing an additional 225,873 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $532,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $46.80. 1,540,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,578,085. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.94. 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 issued its 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.