FORA Capital LLC Has $2.40 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. by 328.4%, acquiring an additional 34,282 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 44,721 shares worth approximately $2.4 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group recently reported earnings per share of $0.40 for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates by 4 cents, and experienced a 1.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, expected to yield 2.5%, with an ex-dividend date of August 18.

FORA Capital LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 328.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,282 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $64.89. 1,450,721 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,469,195. The stock has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.66.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 60.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

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.