Focus Partners Wealth Increases Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,599 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.13% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $21,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of JEF traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,258,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,494. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.57. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

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.