Tidal Investments LLC Increases Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 392.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,070 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.05. 213,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,232. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.43. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 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 firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.