ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC Boosts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• ACR Alpine Capital Research increased its Jefferies Financial Group stake by 30.3% in the first quarter, adding 29,012 shares to bring its total to 124,770 shares worth about $5.15 million.
• Jefferies reported Q2 results below expectations, with EPS of $1.02 versus the $1.16 consensus and revenue of $2.21 billion versus $2.30 billion expected, though revenue still rose 35% year over year.
• The company approved a $250 million share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, implying a 3.1% annualized yield.

ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,012 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group comprises 0.1% of ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $5,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,972,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $246,167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211,375 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,812,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 454,054 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,412,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $211,460,000 after buying an additional 2,984,055 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,942,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,390,000 after buying an additional 24,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,607,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,595,000 after buying an additional 29,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of JEF opened at $52.04 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $54.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.61. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 44.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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