Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Purchased by Kera Capital Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 14.7% during the second quarter, holding a total of 94,426 shares worth approximately $5.16 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $0.40, below the consensus estimate of $0.44, and experienced a 1.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a dividend yield of 2.4%.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,115 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group comprises approximately 1.0% of Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $5,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,972,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,808,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $364,723,000 after purchasing an additional 819,594 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,893,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.8% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 798,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,749,000 after purchasing an additional 373,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $66.66 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.66. The company has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The business's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on JEF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.50.

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.

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