Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Makes New $724.97 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,247,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $724,971,000. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for 9.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.25. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.72 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

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.