Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $3.33 Million Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,054 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $111,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $149,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $43.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.36. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $47.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

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.