Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 119,913 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 27.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 316,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119,913 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $17,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 2,773 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 40,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 5,871 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 23.6% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 44.3% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 28,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 8,750 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.83.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $57.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.16. 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 quarterly earnings data 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. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 7.40%.The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.98%.

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.