Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Sold by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 233,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,637 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $12,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter valued at $78,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.1%

JEF stock opened at $54.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.32. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 7.40%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.