Stephens Inc. AR Trims Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 479 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 8,229 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $462,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.6%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $56.49 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 7.40%.The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on JEF. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

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.