Empowered Funds LLC Has $9.76 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 197.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,674 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $9,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $74.68 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06 and a beta of 1.34. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.70 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.19.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

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.