West Michigan Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

West Michigan Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position 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 period. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.7% in 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 buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $66.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.46. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.72 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.