American Century Companies Inc. Sells 14,367 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. by 13.8% in the first quarter, now holding 89,420 shares valued at $4.79 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported a Q2 EPS of $0.40, missing estimates by $0.04, with a revenue drop of 1.3% year-over-year to $1.63 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, yielding 2.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 60.38%.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,367 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,207,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,053. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. 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 market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.66.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.