BlackRock Inc. Invests $834.95 Million in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 16.7 million Jefferies shares worth approximately $834.95 million during the second quarter, giving it an 8.62% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with two Buy ratings and five Holds, 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, despite 35% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend and authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,705,627 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $834,947,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.62% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $651,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $33,009,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Trivium Point Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer cut 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 note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $52.35 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

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

About Jefferies Financial Group

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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