Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 6.8% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.07% of the company after selling 10,048 shares.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Jefferies, with JCIC Asset Management Inc. raising its stake by 193.8%, showcasing increased interest from the investment community.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Jefferies Financial Group, with Goldman Sachs raising its target price to $62.00, while Morgan Stanley lowered its target to $54.00 and one analyst issuing a sell rating.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,048 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $7,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 8,229 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,035,000 after purchasing an additional 232,237 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, reaching $57.67. The company had a trading volume of 118,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,833,812. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 1.46. 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 moving average price of $53.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.13.

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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Jefferies Financial Group's 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.