California State Teachers Retirement System Has $11.42 Million Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,409 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $11,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of JEF traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.17. 429,947 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,631,586. The company has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 1.47. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.75.

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.