3,623 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Bought by Quantessence Capital LLC

Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th 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 period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $43.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.29. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 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.