Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $2.49 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $88,852,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,920 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,282,000 after purchasing an additional 646,666 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,126.9% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 587,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,737,000 after purchasing an additional 539,534 shares during the period. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,231,000 after buying an additional 510,125 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $45.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.82 and its 200 day moving average is $42.42. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $31.12 and a one year high of $47.87. The firm has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

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.