Bamco Inc. NY Invests $107.04 Million in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Bamco Inc. NY acquired 2.14 million shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter, investing approximately $107.04 million for a 1.11% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Jefferies reported quarterly revenue of $2.21 billion, up 35% year over year, but earnings of $1.02 per share fell short of analysts’ $1.16 estimate. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $62.62.
• The company announced a $250 million share-repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of 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. The institutional investor acquired 2,141,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $107,044,000. Bamco Inc. NY owned about 1.11% of Jefferies Financial Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $53.12 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.82. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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