328,279 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Bought by Robotti Robert

Robotti Robert bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 328,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,407,000. Jefferies Financial Group makes up 2.6% of Robotti Robert’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 132,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,196,000 after buying an additional 64,682 shares in the last quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,041,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,941,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 808.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 32,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $897,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $53.84 on Wednesday. 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 $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.62.

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.