Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 54.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,047 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Davidson Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,113,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 15,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,814,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $54.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 1.46. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.45 and a 200-day moving average of $58.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. 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.

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