Lafayette Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,147 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises about 2.1% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $9,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $81,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.4 %

JEF stock opened at $59.95 on Friday. 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 $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.76. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.38 and a 52 week high of $59.97.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.