Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $11.84 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 236,891 shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter, valued at approximately $11.84 million and representing about 0.12% of the company.
• Jefferies reported quarterly revenue of $2.21 billion, up 35% year over year, but earnings of $1.02 per share fell short of the $1.16 analyst consensus estimate.
• The company authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% annualized yield. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with a $62.62 target price.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 236,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,840,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.12% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.1%

JEF opened at $52.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.54. The business's 50-day moving average price is $54.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04.

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 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.62.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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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