Custom Index Systems LLC Sells 1,888 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Custom Index Systems LLC cut its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,888 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,046,000 after acquiring an additional 51,633 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,419,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,608,000 after acquiring an additional 180,702 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,638,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,064,000 after buying an additional 132,414 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $56.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $59.97. The company has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st.

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.