Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC decreased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 14.4%, owning 77,805 shares valued at approximately $4.17 million after selling 13,046 shares.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its investment in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1%, now owning over 5.1 million shares worth $274.6 million following an additional purchase.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported an EPS of $0.40 for its most recent quarter, missing analysts' expectations and showing a 1.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,046 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock traded down $0.3240 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.7060. 1,267,726 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,387,083. 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 $56.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 1.48.

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 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.00.

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.