36,610 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Acquired by Gradient Investments LLC

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC has acquired 36,610 shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc., valued at approximately $2,002,000.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.04, with a total revenue of $1.63 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 60.38%.

Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 36,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,002,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after buying an additional 8,229 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $66.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.52. The stock has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 1.49. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.50.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.

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