Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys New Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd has acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. during the first quarter, purchasing 5,422 shares valued at approximately $290,000.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Jefferies Financial Group, with Elequin Capital LP raising its stake by 117.9% and JCIC Asset Management Inc. by 193.8%.
• Jefferies Financial Group has recently faced a rating shift, with Goldman Sachs raising its price target from $55.00 to $62.00 and Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $54.00 to $72.00 while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $65.59 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The firm's 50 day moving average is $59.41 and its 200-day moving average is $54.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 1.49. 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 (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

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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