Jupiter Topco LLC Takes $3.35 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Jupiter Topco LLC acquired 67,014 shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.35 million. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of the company, with BlackRock also establishing a sizable new position.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on JEF, with an average price target of $62.62. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, below the $1.16 consensus estimate, although revenue increased 35% year over year.
• Jefferies pays a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 3.1% annualized yield, and authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program covering up to 2% of outstanding shares.

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 67,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,352,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $834,947,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,972,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $246,167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211,375 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,412,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,055 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,242,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,584,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $51.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.

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