Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Reduced by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV reduced its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,219 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,035,000 after buying an additional 232,237 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $772,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $788,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF remained flat at $50.36 on Friday. 730,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,589,884. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.77. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 1.47.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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 paid 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 3.18%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 55.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.