Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Holdings Increased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,846 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $7,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF traded down $1.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $54.71. 1,772,777 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,694,094. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.81 and a 200 day moving average of $60.27. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 1.45.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 55.36%.

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.