Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Boosts Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 164.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,388 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th 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. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,594,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $53.58 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $66.08 and a 200-day moving average of $69.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.