Encompass More Asset Management Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Encompass More Asset Management invested approximately $637,000 in Jefferies Financial Group by acquiring 11,886 shares in the first quarter.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported a $0.40 EPS for the recent quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 and indicating a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a dividend payout ratio of 60.38% and an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Encompass More Asset Management bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 11,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 824.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of JEF traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,045,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,859. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $54.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 1.48. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.