NewEdge Wealth LLC Increases Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 356,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,539 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $14,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 175.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.77. The stock had a trading volume of 667,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,147. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.82. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.81 and a 12-month high of $47.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

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.