Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 809 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.7% in the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.4 %

JEF opened at $59.95 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.57 and its 200-day moving average is $47.81. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $31.38 and a one year high of $59.97. The company has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.