Condor Capital Management Cuts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Condor Capital Management lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 212 shares during the quarter. Condor Capital Management’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $59.31 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.42. 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 company has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.72 and a 12-month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a 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.