Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 4,549 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,549 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $3,518,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $17,037,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.6 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.42 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.81 and a 52 week high of $47.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.24.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.