1,012,791 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1,012,791 shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter, worth approximately $50.6 million and representing about 0.52% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Jefferies carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $62.75. Oppenheimer maintained an “Outperform” rating, while BMO Capital Markets cut its target to $57.
• Jefferies reported quarterly revenue of $2.21 billion and EPS of $1.02, missing analyst estimates, though revenue rose 35% year over year. The company also pays a $0.40 quarterly dividend and authorized a $250 million share-buyback program.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,012,791 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,619,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.52% of Jefferies Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the 2nd 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. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 95,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,933,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 146,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,051,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $60.00 to $57.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $57.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $47.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.52. The business's 50 day moving average price is $53.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.72.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and said Jefferies could benefit from a revival in mergers and acquisitions, although it lowered its price target to $76 from $83. A stronger M&A environment could support Jefferies’ investment-banking revenue. Jefferies Financial Group Seen Benefiting From M&A Revival
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies is serving as a joint book-running manager for Electra Therapeutics’ upsized $350 million IPO. The mandate highlights continued equity-capital-markets activity and could generate underwriting fees, though the financial impact on JEF is likely modest. Electra Therapeutics IPO

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc NYSE: JEF is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and wealth management services. Its principal operating business, Jefferies, advises companies, governments and institutional investors on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic transactions.

Through its investment banking and securities operations, Jefferies offers equity and fixed-income underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and related services.

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