Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 26,546 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 26,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 175.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.8% during the third quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 23,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 3,148 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $484,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $44.59 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.18. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $47.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.