Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,605 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.22% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $35,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 507.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 132,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,111,000 after buying an additional 110,922 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,312,000 after buying an additional 2,914,504 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,091,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 29,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $54.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.