Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,540 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $7,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 62.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 586,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,970,000 after buying an additional 225,873 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $532,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,295,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 81.4% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 12,071 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $41.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.72 and a 200-day moving average of $67.49. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research 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.