Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) is Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 510,125 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up approximately 3.4% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 1.54% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $132,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,802,000 after buying an additional 1,406,920 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,282,000 after purchasing an additional 646,666 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,265,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,337,000 after purchasing an additional 562,810 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,002,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,726,000 after purchasing an additional 13,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hosking Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 842,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,877,000 after purchasing an additional 86,898 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.3 %

JEF stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,068,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,453. The firm has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.81 and a 12-month high of $47.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.36.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.