Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Purchases 510,125 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,272,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 510,125 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises 3.4% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $132,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 46,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $409,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $454,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 33,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.70. 1,068,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,453. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.13 and its 200 day moving average is $39.36. The stock 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 quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.