Voya Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,673 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,985,000 after acquiring an additional 6,098 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 44,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 13,449 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. Quantessence Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 7,120 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $47.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.73. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.29. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

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.