Stephens Inc. AR Purchases 2,471 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 37.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 197.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 124,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,762,000 after purchasing an additional 82,674 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $70.95 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.23 and a 52-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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.44. The firm has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

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.