Geode Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,777,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,057 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.35% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $217,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,988,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,518,000 after buying an additional 3,677,233 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $286,476,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,941,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,179 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,987,000 after purchasing an additional 344,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,645,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,028,000 after purchasing an additional 47,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on JEF. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 10.2 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $43.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.94 and a 200-day moving average of $69.19.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.36%.

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.