Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 1.4% of Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 201.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,328,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,350,000 after acquiring an additional 2,223,630 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,152,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,972,000 after buying an additional 2,207,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,262,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,093.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,829,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,549 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20,887.5% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,007,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,600 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 473,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,670. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.81 and a fifty-two week high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released 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. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average 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.