Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Waterfront Wealth Inc.

Waterfront Wealth Inc. lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 146,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,546 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises 2.8% of Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Waterfront Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $11,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JEF. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $283,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,943.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $439,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $66.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.89 and a 200-day moving average of $68.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.71 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of 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.

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.