Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) is Robotti Robert's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Robotti Robert reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.8%, now holding approximately 343,528 shares, making it their 7th largest position.
• Other hedge funds, like JCIC Asset Management and GAMMA Investing, increased their holdings significantly during the first quarter, with increases of 193.8% and 123.9% respectively.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported $0.40 earnings per share for the last quarter, below analysts' expectations, and experienced a 1.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Robotti Robert trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 343,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 64,316 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group comprises approximately 3.7% of Robotti Robert's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Robotti Robert owned about 0.17% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $18,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 824.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded down $1.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,297,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,503. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.67.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend 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.