Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Waterfront Wealth Inc.

Waterfront Wealth Inc. decreased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,389 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for 1.8% of Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Waterfront Wealth Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $6,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 175.7% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE JEF traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 727,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,465. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.78 and a 200 day moving average of $38.94. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.81 and a twelve month high of $47.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share 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 $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.