Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Cuts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Beck Mack & Oliver LLC reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.3%, now owning approximately 1.4% of the company, which equates to about $70 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported earnings of $0.40 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44, with a revenue of $1.63 billion, slightly below the projected $1.64 billion.
• Goldman Sachs recently increased their price target for Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00, reflecting a "buy" rating for the stock.

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,312,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,930 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 1.4% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC owned about 0.64% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $70,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 8,229 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,035,000 after purchasing an additional 232,237 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.9%

JEF stock opened at $64.89 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $57.99 and its 200 day moving average is $54.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JEF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.