Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Purchased by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 392.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying 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.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in 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 valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.7%

JEF stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.71. 1,698,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,622,495. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.64. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 1.47.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.