Moerus Capital Management LLC Sells 343,084 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Moerus Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 640,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 343,084 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 18.3% of Moerus Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Moerus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $50,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $43.08 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS 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 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.