Assetmark Inc. Boosts Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 925.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $54.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. 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 capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.47.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.