Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1%, acquiring over 1.1 million additional shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 5.1 million shares valued at $274.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including CoreCap Advisors and Fifth Third Bancorp, also boosted their stakes, indicating strong institutional interest, with 60.88% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Goldman Sachs raised its price target for Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00, while the consensus rating remains at "Hold" with an average target price of $66.00.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.49% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $274,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Simmons Bank boosted its stake 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 valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake 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 valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $61.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.97. The company has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 1.48. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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