Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 11,906 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,906 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $5,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 note on Thursday, May 15th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:JEF traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,513,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,156. The business's 50 day moving average is $48.17 and its 200-day moving average is $64.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 1.47.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

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.