Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Lee Danner & Bass Inc.

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 504 shares during the quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. owned 0.05% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $8,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of JEF opened at $59.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

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.