Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,122 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $56.24 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.72 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.37. 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 fifty day moving average of $72.47 and a 200-day moving average of $69.64.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced 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 firm 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 earned $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 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 2.85%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.