Quantinno Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,196 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.05% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $8,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE JEF traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $51.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,022,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,768. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 55.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on JEF. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.75.

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.