Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Grows Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 164.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,388 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after buying an additional 167,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JEF. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $53.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.72 and a 12-month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.