Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Trimmed by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,703,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,636 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.83% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $91,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% during the first 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 stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

JEF stock traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.69. 1,333,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,038. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.