Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 62.4% in Q1, owning approximately 0.11% of the company valued at $12.1 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported Q2 earnings of $0.40 per share, which was below the analysts' expectations of $0.44, alongside a revenue of $1.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a dividend yield of 2.5%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 62.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 90,608 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $12,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Elequin Capital LP raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the first 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 grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.8%

JEF stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.66. 890,731 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,232. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.58.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 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.