Raymond James Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. sold 162,918 shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc., reducing its holdings by 36.4%, leaving them with about 0.14% ownership valued at $15.27 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Jefferies reported an EPS of $0.40 for the last quarter, missing the analysts' expectations by $0.04, while the firm's revenue experienced a 1.3% decline year-over-year.
• A recent dividend of $0.40 per share was declared, representing a 2.4% dividend yield, with an ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 162,918 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.14% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $15,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,972,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,805,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,785 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.8% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 798,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,749,000 after purchasing an additional 373,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,814,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

JEF traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.08. The company had a trading volume of 592,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,143. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 1.49. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.66.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

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.