Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Purchased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Jefferies by 50.4% in Q4 to 66,871 shares (about $4.17 million), while overall institutional and hedge fund ownership totals roughly 60.88%.
• Jefferies reported an EPS of $0.70, missing consensus of $0.89 despite revenue rising 26.6% year-over-year to $2.02 billion, and analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $58.14.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (annualized $1.60) implying a yield of 3.4%, with an ex-dividend date of May 18 and payment on May 29.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,398 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $4,011,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 927.8% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,474 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 245.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 651,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,603,000 after purchasing an additional 462,546 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 284.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 226,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,835,000 after purchasing an additional 167,817 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $47.44 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.30. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.05%.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.

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