Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 110.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 267,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 140,037 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $20,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings 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 period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.89 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.17.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

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.