Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,093.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,829,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,549 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,282,000 after buying an additional 646,666 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 80.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,265,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,337,000 after acquiring an additional 562,810 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,002,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,726,000 after acquiring an additional 13,911 shares during the period. Finally, Hosking Partners LLP grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 842,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,877,000 after acquiring an additional 86,898 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $44.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.96 and a 200-day moving average of $39.18. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.