Choreo LLC Has $301,000 Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Choreo LLC reduced its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,237 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $286,476,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,153,000 after acquiring an additional 167,270 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,987,000 after acquiring an additional 344,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,394,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,353,000 after acquiring an additional 118,886 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $70.95 on Friday. 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’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 capitalization of $14.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81 and a beta of 1.34. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.23 and a 12-month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer dropped 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.

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.