Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Private-credit fundraising could support growth: Jefferies Credit Partners is reportedly seeking approximately $1.16 billion, or €1 billion, for a fund investing in private-credit secondary-market opportunities. The fund could expand Jefferies’ asset-management and credit-investment platform, although details on fundraising and economics remain limited. Jefferies Credit Partners Is Moving Its Own Loans Into a New Fund Jefferies aims to raise €1B for private credit secondaries fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Research activity involving other companies is unlikely to materially affect JEF directly: Jefferies maintained or changed recommendations on Bajaj Housing Finance, Swiggy, Jupiter Wagons, Belrise Industries and BSE. These reports may generate advisory or trading activity, but they do not represent changes to JEF’s own earnings outlook. Jefferies research on Bajaj Housing Finance Jefferies research on Swiggy
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigation adds an overhang: Bragar Eagel & Squire announced an investigation into Jefferies Financial Group on behalf of investors who suffered losses. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but such notices can increase headline, legal and reputational risk. Bragar Eagel & Squire investigation into Jefferies Financial Group

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF stock opened at $53.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.