State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Elequin Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% during the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.6% during the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 5,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% in 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 during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF stock opened at $62.37 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 7.40%.The company’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JEF. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.