Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes $20.14 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 256,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,144,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $724,971,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 159.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,988,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677,233 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,381,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $421,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,094,191 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,941,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,179 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,293,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $415,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of JEF traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $47.10. 1,046,337 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,580,156. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 55.36%.

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.