Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $74,000 Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 66.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,570 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $149,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $43.42 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.81 and a 52 week high of $47.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.24. 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 $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on JEF. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

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.