9,982 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Purchased by Headlands Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC has acquired nearly 10,000 shares in Jefferies Financial Group, representing a new investment valued at approximately $535,000.
• Jefferies reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.40, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.44, and revenues decreased by 1.3% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, yielding 2.7%, to be paid on August 29th, with a current dividend payout ratio of 60.38%.

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $637,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 502,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,940,000 after purchasing an additional 52,761 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,655,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 522.5% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 24,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 20,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports 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 upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.16. 671,266 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,103. The stock's fifty day moving average is $55.52 and its 200 day moving average is $55.97. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51 and a beta of 1.48. 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 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The business 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%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.38%.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.