EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New $291,000 Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group, purchasing 5,423 shares valued at approximately $291,000 in the first quarter.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported earnings of $0.40 per share for the quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations, with total revenue of $1.63 billion for the period.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Jefferies, with the stock receiving a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $66.00.

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,822 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $58,972,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,805,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,582,000 after buying an additional 1,037,785 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.8% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 798,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,749,000 after buying an additional 373,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $14,814,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE JEF traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $65.11. 198,014 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,786,760. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.03. The company has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.48.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The company's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

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.