Profund Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Profund Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 10.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 504 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $61.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.26. The stock has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.38 and a 1 year high of $62.98. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.