Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 662,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,442 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.31% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $26,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $4,623,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $5,419,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,040,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,047,000 after acquiring an additional 37,878 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 59,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,386,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 106,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $45.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50 and a beta of 1.33. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.12 and a 52-week high of $47.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.59.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 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. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.