Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 51,633 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.08% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $178,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 41.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 157,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 45,686 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,712,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 30.0% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,508,000 after buying an additional 9,499 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of JEF traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.32. The stock had a trading volume of 915,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,030,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.83 and a 52-week high of $47.62. The business's fifty day moving average is $44.14 and its 200 day moving average is $40.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55 and a beta of 1.36.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.