Naples Money Management LLC Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 175.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.6 %

JEF opened at $42.17 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.81 and a 12-month high of $47.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.00.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.