Donald Smith & CO. Inc. reduced its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF – Get Rating) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,315,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,154 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for about 4.4% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 1.45% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $97,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 155.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 64.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 332.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares during the period. 66.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group to $46.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.60%.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

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Jefferies Financial Group, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Investment Banking, Capital Markets, and Asset Management, Merchant Banking, and Corporate. The Investment Banking, Capital Markets, and Asset Management segment consists of investments in Jefferies Group.

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