Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,898 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE JEF opened at $62.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $31.38 and a one year high of $62.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.56.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.