Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,941,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,437,179 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $309,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $313,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 507.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 132,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,111,000 after purchasing an additional 110,922 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,312,000 after buying an additional 2,914,504 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 3,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 29,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $52.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.56. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a 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.