NorthRock Partners LLC Makes New $450,000 Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,262,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,398. The firm has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 1.47. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.33. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

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.