Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,857 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $4,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $244,895,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 66.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. BOKF NA raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 128,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Wade G W & Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. 70.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Chairman Joseph S. Steinberg sold 225,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.87, for a total value of $8,081,905.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 16,225,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $582,004,559.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Joseph S. Steinberg sold 218,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.85, for a total value of $8,062,485.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 16,673,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,416,706.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph S. Steinberg sold 225,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.87, for a total transaction of $8,081,905.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 16,225,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $582,004,559.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 578,320 shares of company stock worth $20,948,017. Insiders own 20.10% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.2 %

JEF opened at $38.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.34 and a twelve month high of $40.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.10.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 6.23%. The firm’s revenue was down 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc engages in the investment banking and capital markets, and asset management businesses in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. 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, restructurings or recapitalizations and private capital advisory transactions; equity and debt underwriting; and corporate lending.