Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC has made a new investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc., acquiring 58,588 shares valued at approximately $3.14 million during the first quarter.
• Jefferies Financial Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share, missing analysts' estimates, with a net margin of 7.70% and a revenue of $1.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 60.38%.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 58,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,139,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.51. 1,270,667 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,793,651. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72 and a beta of 1.48. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.03.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.38%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.