Rock Point Advisors LLC Has $9.14 Million Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Rock Point Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,447 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for about 2.8% of Rock Point Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Rock Point Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $9,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JEF. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 147,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,556,000 after buying an additional 57,799 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,569,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $54.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.46. The company's 50-day moving average is $52.17 and its 200-day moving average is $59.46. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.62%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 60.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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 note on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

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.

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