13,645 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Acquired by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.5 %

JEF stock opened at $65.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.34. 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 is $74.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.72 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.