DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Buys New Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 97,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $50.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.27 and a 200-day moving average of $65.77.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company 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 firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

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.