Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stake Reduced by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,777,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,057 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $217,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $286,476,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,988,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677,233 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,941,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,179 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 157.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 802,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,905,000 after acquiring an additional 490,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $35,520,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 10.2 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.08 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.72 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.19.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st.

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.