LPL Financial LLC Sells 28,649 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

LPL Financial LLC lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 346,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,649 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.17% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $18,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.0%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $57.69 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.58.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.00.

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.