9,247,081 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,247,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $724,971,000. Jefferies Financial Group makes up 9.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 4.49% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% during 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $788,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 10.2 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.08 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.25.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JEF. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.