Pacifica Capital Investments LLC Has $1.13 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Pacifica Capital Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 73.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72,189 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises 0.3% of Pacifica Capital Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876,529 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $88,852,000. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,126.9% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 587,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,737,000 after acquiring an additional 539,534 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,231,000 after acquiring an additional 510,125 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $17,037,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,123,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,660. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $31.38 and a one year high of $52.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.33.

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.