UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 30,730 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 463,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,730 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.22% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $36,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $724,971,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,988,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677,233 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,381,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094,191 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,293,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $415,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,941,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,179 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of JEF stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.37. 647,997 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,613. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.43. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.36%.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

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.