Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 32,771 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,569,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after acquiring an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $788,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $58.44 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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.