1,591,384 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired 1.59 million Jefferies shares valued at approximately $79.5 million, representing about 0.82% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with two Buy ratings and five Holds; the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.62.
• Jefferies reported quarterly revenue growth of 35% year over year but missed earnings and revenue estimates. The company also announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend, a $250 million share-repurchase program, and currently yields about 3.0%.

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,591,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $79,537,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.82% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $3,325,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 8.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 226,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,798,000 after buying an additional 17,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JEF shares. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $53.12 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.82. 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 52-week low of $35.53 and a 52-week high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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