Caxton Associates LLP Has $1.76 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 34.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,932 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of JEF opened at $55.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.07. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.