California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Jefferies Financial Group stake by 22.3% in the first quarter, purchasing 32,750 additional shares for a total holding valued at approximately $7.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.62. Recent targets range from $60 to $65, while UBS lowered its objective to $65.
• Jefferies reported quarterly earnings of $1.02 per share, below the $1.16 consensus estimate, although revenue rose 35% year over year to $2.21 billion. The company also announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend and authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,750 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $7,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 622 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:JEF opened at $55.70 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.60 and a 200-day moving average of $51.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

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