AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 53,019 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,019 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned about 0.10% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $10,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.97. 2,874,911 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,643,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.45. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.56.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 55.36%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.