Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 38.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,229 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JEF. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 57,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,636,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.69. 1,333,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,038. The company's fifty day moving average price is $52.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.14. The company has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.