Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 63.8% in Q1, now owning 320,523 shares valued at approximately $17.17 million.
• Major institutional investors like Alliancebernstein and JPMorgan Chase have also significantly increased their holdings in Jefferies Financial Group during the same quarter.
• Jefferies recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share with a yield of 2.5%.

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 63.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 124,853 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $17,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $66.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 890,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,232. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.81 and a 200 day moving average of $54.58. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 60.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.