Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Holdings Increased by Kera Capital Partners Inc.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 110.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 43,269 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE JEF traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.56. 1,513,520 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,156. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 1.47. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

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.