Empowered Funds LLC Buys 32,481 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Jefferies Financial Group stake by 808.6% in the first quarter, adding 32,481 shares for a total holding of 36,498 shares valued at approximately $1.51 million. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Jefferies reported quarterly revenue of $2.21 billion, up 35% year over year, but earnings of $1.02 per share missed estimates of $1.16. The company also authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, yielding about 2.8% annually.
• JEF shares opened at $56.61, while analysts maintained an overall “Hold” consensus with an average price target of $62.62; ratings included two Buys and five Holds.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 808.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,481 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,187,000. Endure Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,190,000. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 10,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 360.1% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 124,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,150,000 after purchasing an additional 97,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $56.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.55. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.54.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.62.

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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