Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) is Private Management Group Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Private Management Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,147,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 128,018 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 2.2% of Private Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Private Management Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $57,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $81,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE JEF opened at $56.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.38 and a 12 month high of $59.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

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.