Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $962,000 Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 351 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $56.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.43. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.72 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a 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.