Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,516 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.6 %

JEF opened at $53.58 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday.

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.