Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.98 Million in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter, buying 47,900 shares valued at about $1.98 million.
• Jefferies shares were up 2.8% to $50.17, but the stock remains below its 52-week high of $71.04; institutional investors now own about 60.88% of the company.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.02 missing estimates and revenue of $2.21 billion also below forecasts, while it maintained a 3.2% dividend yield and authorized a $250 million share buyback.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 47,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,977,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvwm LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $50.17 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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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