Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 115,569 Beacon Financial Corporation $BBT

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group disclosed a new position in Beacon Financial, buying 115,569 shares worth about $3.05 million in the fourth quarter, giving it roughly 0.14% ownership.
• Beacon Financial reported Q1 earnings of $0.70 per share, which missed analysts’ $0.83 estimate, even as revenue came in at $214.72 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3225 per share and a $50 million stock buyback authorization, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Beacon Financial Corporation (NYSE:BBT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 115,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,048,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Beacon Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Beacon Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Beacon Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBT opened at $29.14 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $29.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.52. Beacon Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $22.81 and a 1 year high of $32.83. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Beacon Financial (NYSE:BBT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $214.72 million for the quarter. Beacon Financial had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 6.97%. On average, research analysts predict that Beacon Financial Corporation will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Beacon Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Beacon Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.61%.

Beacon Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Beacon Financial from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Beacon Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Beacon Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Beacon Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Beacon Financial from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.75.

Insider Transactions at Beacon Financial

In other Beacon Financial news, insider Michael W. Mccurdy sold 17,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.04, for a total transaction of $538,016.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $793,227.20. This trade represents a 40.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Beacon Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corp. operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, businesses and municipalities. The firm offers a variety of loans and lease financing to individuals and entities, including insurance premium financing, permanent commercial real estate financing arrangements, loan servicing for third-party investors, direct consumer finance loans to individuals, credit card lending, automobile financing and equipment financing. It also markets a range of other services, including deposits, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, health Truist Financial Corp.

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