Voya Investment Management LLC Has $3.01 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. by 44.1%, holding 56,122 shares valued at $3.01 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their stakes in Jefferies Financial Group, with Elequin Capital LP raising its holdings by 117.9% during the same quarter.
• Analysts have upgraded Jefferies Financial Group's rating, with Morgan Stanley raising the price target from $54.00 to $72.00 while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 44.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,204 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Elequin Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.67.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.2%

JEF traded down $0.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.83. 417,358 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,773,779. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00 and a beta of 1.49.

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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

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.