Chou Associates Management Inc. Takes $7.46 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Chou Associates Management purchased 149,237 shares of Jefferies Financial Group worth approximately $7.46 million, making JEF 3.4% of the fund’s portfolio and its ninth-largest position.
• Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, with two Buy ratings and five Hold ratings; the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a target price of $62.62.
• Jefferies reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, below the $1.16 consensus, while revenue rose 35% year over year to $2.21 billion. The company also authorized a $250 million share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Chou Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 149,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,459,000. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for 3.4% of Chou Associates Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Chou Associates Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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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