Cerity Partners LLC Has $12.13 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 21.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,164 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $12,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 824.0% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JEF. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. 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 research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $54.88. 1,797,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,691. 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's 50-day moving average price is $52.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.86. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 1.46.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

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.