Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Lowered by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,617 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 55,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,375,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $64.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.