MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Sells 185 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lessened its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elequin Capital LP raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% during the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.67.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $69.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.38%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.