Xponance Inc. Has $939,000 Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 856 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $149,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.42 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.81 and a 12-month high of $47.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on JEF. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.