Voloridge Investment Management LLC Sells 164,194 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 461,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 164,194 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $36,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 report on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of JEF stock opened at $48.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.47. The business's fifty day moving average is $49.69 and its 200 day moving average is $65.11.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

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.

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