Ethic Inc. Raises Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 197.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,484 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.8%

JEF opened at $54.47 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.64.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business’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 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.