Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Stock Holdings Lifted by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC nearly doubled its stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 95.7% to 132,263 shares valued at about $8.2 million.
• Jefferies reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue of $2.02 billion matching estimates but earnings per share of $0.70 missing the $0.89 consensus. Revenue still rose 26.6% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40, or $1.60 annualized, for a yield of about 3.0%, while analysts currently have an overall Hold rating and an average target price of $58.14.

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 95.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 64,682 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $8,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 927.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 26,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 23,474 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 245.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 651,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,603,000 after purchasing an additional 462,546 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 31,288 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 284.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 226,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,835,000 after purchasing an additional 167,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 57,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 37,530 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.6%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.77 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $47.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.03. The stock has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04.

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 return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 6.61%.The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.14.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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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