KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 31,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,446,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 9.7 %

Shares of JEF opened at $54.42 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.41.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on JEF. 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 lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

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.