Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New $3.51 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 70,203 Jefferies Financial Group shares worth approximately $3.51 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of JEF, with BlackRock also initiating a sizable position.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with two Buy ratings and five Hold ratings. MarketBeat reports an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.62.
• Jefferies reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, below the $1.16 consensus estimate, although revenue increased 35% year over year to $2.21 billion. The company also announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend and a $250 million share-repurchase program.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 70,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,509,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $834,947,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,211,375 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.5% during the 4th 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 boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,412,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 24,171 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE JEF opened at $52.56 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $54.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.84.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.69%.

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

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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