IFP Advisors Inc Acquires 652 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 758.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th 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 position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $57.65 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.72 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.56. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.