Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Purchases New Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions purchased 26,583 shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.33 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 the $1.16 consensus estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share and authorized a $250 million stock-buyback program covering up to 2% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $62.62 price target.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,444,000. Family Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $244,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 48,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.5% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 308,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $210,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.14 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.53 and a 52-week high of $71.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.

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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