Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 14,809 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 82.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,809 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $2.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,489,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,502. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.47. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on JEF. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.75.

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.