Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,824 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for 5.7% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. owned about 0.27% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $27,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock traded up $0.84 on Monday, hitting $59.95. 1,293,200 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,140,041. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.57 and its 200 day moving average is $47.81. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $59.97. The company has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley increased 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised 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 Company 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.