72,820 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 72,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CX Institutional grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $53.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.41 and a 200-day moving average of $50.79. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. 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 (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.