Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Bought by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 59,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of JEF stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.12. 1,125,197 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,574. The stock has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56 and a beta of 1.34. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.38 and a fifty-two week high of $59.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.36.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

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.