Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Makes New $3.32 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group, purchasing 61,992 shares valued at approximately $3.32 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group recently reported a net margin of 7.70% and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40, missing expectations of $0.44.
• The company's quarterly dividend was confirmed at $0.40, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 60.38%.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 61,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,321,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 worth $274,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,822 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $58,972,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 135.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,037,785 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $42,749,000 after acquiring an additional 373,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on JEF. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.3%

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.47. The stock had a trading volume of 955,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,370. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.74.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.