Pinebridge Investments L.P. Has $3.53 Million Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,449 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $46.80 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.94.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 55.36%.

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.