Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3,943.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $286,476,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $202,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,987,000 after buying an additional 344,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,645,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,028,000 after buying an additional 47,141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $64.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.35. The company has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73 and a beta of 1.34.

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 company had revenue of $1.96 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on 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 upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

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.