Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 587,422 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,137,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 587,422 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.52% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $245,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in 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 0.2 %

Shares of JEF traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.80. 1,540,603 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,581,503. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company's 50 day moving average is $53.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 1.29.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

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.