Cinctive Capital Management LP Trims Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 59.6%, now owning 28,353 shares worth $1,519,000 at the end of the last quarter.
• Jefferies reported $0.40 EPS for the most recent quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $0.44, with a revenue of $1.63 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company has announced a $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, yielding 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 60.38%.

Cinctive Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 59.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,877 shares during the quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE JEF traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $64.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,171,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,626. The firm has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 1.49. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for 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%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.50.

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.