Farringdon Capital Ltd. Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,987,000 after acquiring an additional 344,409 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 29,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 5,065 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 232.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 280,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,174,000 after purchasing an additional 195,902 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $42.77 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

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.