Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Holdings Lifted by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 97,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,540 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $41.61 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.49.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 3.85%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

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.