Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $57.60 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

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.