Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,516 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $788,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $53.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.72 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given 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 yield of 2.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

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.