Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 8,196 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,920 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 230,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,296,000 after purchasing an additional 64,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on JEF. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.8 %

JEF opened at $41.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $47.39.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.36%.

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.