Williamson Legacy Group LLC Acquires New Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Williamson Legacy Group LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $66.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 1.34. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.72 and a 1-year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.