Northern Trust Corp Buys 232,237 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 232,237 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.77% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $124,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $123,987,000 after purchasing an additional 344,409 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 232.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 280,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,174,000 after acquiring an additional 195,902 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,455,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $49.29 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.36.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.

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