Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Jefferies by 816.8% in Q4, buying 25,026 shares to hold 28,090 shares valued at about $1.74 million.
• Jefferies reported quarterly EPS of $0.70 (vs. $0.89 expected), with revenue matching estimates at $2.02 billion, and announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.60, ~3.3% yield; ex-dividend May 18).

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 816.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,026 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 622 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of JEF opened at $48.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.02 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 6.61%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price objective 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. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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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