Redwood Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Redwood Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,734 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,035,000 after purchasing an additional 232,237 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $2,569,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $53.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.49. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.75.

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.