Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 17,486 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 161.9% in the first quarter, owning 28,288 shares valued at approximately $1.49 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported a quarterly EPS of $0.40, missing analysts' estimates of $0.44, and revenue decreased by 1.3% year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.40 was announced, representing a yield of 2.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 161.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,486 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the first 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 period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $58,972,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,805,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,785 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.8% in the first 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 period. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $14,814,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.96. The stock had a trading volume of 642,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,403. 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 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.66.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of 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 target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.