Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Lowered by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $65.80 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $82.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business 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 company’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

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.