Cerity Partners LLC Raises Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 476.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 162,442 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $7,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 175.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $41.30 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.89. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

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.