Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Reduced by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Covenant Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up approximately 0.6% of Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $71.45 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.67 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released 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 return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders 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 2.24%. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research 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.