Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 193.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,120 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,987,000 after buying an additional 344,409 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 232.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 280,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,174,000 after purchasing an additional 195,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $49.29 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.29. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JEF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.