Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 6,159 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 77.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,159 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.46. 1,907,305 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,424,431. The company has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm's 50-day moving average is $68.05 and its 200 day moving average is $69.43. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Remove Ads

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

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.