1492 Capital Management LLC Sells 48,063 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

1492 Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 49.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 48,063 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up approximately 1.4% of 1492 Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. 1492 Capital Management LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 57,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,636,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.64. 886,689 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,852,961. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.38 and a 200-day moving average of $57.54. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

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.