Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Buys Shares of 14,496 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 14,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,136,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $59.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95 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 50-day moving average price of $68.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.43. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.