Equitable Trust Co. Trims Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Equitable Trust Co. cut its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,835 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 9,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 197.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 124,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,762,000 after purchasing an additional 82,674 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $344,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $73.21 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.86 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.31. 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 (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

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.