Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 5,422 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group, purchasing 5,422 shares valued at approximately $290,000.
• Jefferies Financial Group's stock received mixed analyst ratings, with one sell rating, two hold ratings, and two buy ratings, and a consensus price target of $66.00.
• The firm reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.40 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.44, and anticipates an EPS of 4.41 for the current fiscal year.

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,520,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,720,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 32,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,560,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $57.70 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $54.05 and its 200-day moving average is $57.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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