Hosking Partners LLP Has $33.42 Million Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Hosking Partners LLP reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 10%, selling 69,304 shares, leaving it with 623,813 shares valued at approximately $33.4 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group's latest earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $0.40, below the consensus estimate of $0.44, alongside a revenue of $1.63 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 60.38%.

Hosking Partners LLP lessened its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 623,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 69,304 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group comprises about 1.4% of Hosking Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Hosking Partners LLP owned approximately 0.30% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $33,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of JEF. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 824.0% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JEF shares. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.10. 854,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,811,107. The stock has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $55.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.97. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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.