Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 110.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 267,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 140,037 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.13% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $20,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 320,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,124,000 after buying an additional 42,821 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $237,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 592.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 102,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,019,000 after purchasing an additional 87,437 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $565,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.77. 1,346,095 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,579,329. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.60. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.29.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report 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, March 19th. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.