Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Key Points

• Miller Howard sold 94.5% of its Jefferies stake in Q4, offloading 493,686 shares and leaving it with 28,608 shares worth $1.77 million.
• Jefferies reported EPS $0.70 vs. $0.89 expected (miss by $0.19) while revenue matched estimates at $2.02 billion and was up 26.6% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (annualized $1.60) for a 3.4% yield, and analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target of $58.14 amid mixed price-target revisions.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY reduced its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 94.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 493,686 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Nvwm LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. First Horizon Corp grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 622 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 248.8% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

JEF stock opened at $47.52 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.

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