Shelton Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Shelton Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 995 shares during the period. Shelton Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 55,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,709,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 34,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after buying an additional 9,582 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $75.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.44 and a 200-day moving average of $65.63. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.77 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

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.