Sanctuary Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,645,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,028,000 after purchasing an additional 47,141 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 163.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, CFC Planning Co LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $65.52 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $40.72 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.10.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

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.