FORA Capital LLC Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth 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 period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $50.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.77. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report 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.