Laurion Capital Management LP Sells 5,208 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Laurion Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,208 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $5,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 268,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,038,000 after acquiring an additional 8,599 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 4,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 197.9% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 10,484 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JEF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.39. 1,258,725 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,494. The firm has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.47. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 55.36%.

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.