Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Takes $326,000 Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $71.45. 1,110,271 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,565,591. The firm's 50-day moving average is $76.69 and its 200 day moving average is $68.62. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.67 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

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.