Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,017 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JEF shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock traded up $2.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.29. 1,256,948 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,588,847. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.76 and its 200 day moving average is $66.36. The company has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.29. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. 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.