Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 5,635 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,635 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $61.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 53.69%.

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.