Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $1.53 Million Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 44.3%, acquiring an additional 8,750 shares, bringing their total to 28,500 shares worth approximately $1.53 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group recently reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' expectations by 4 cents, with revenue of $1.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.9%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 18th.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,750 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $724,971,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,412,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,307,000 after buying an additional 246,578 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,381,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,882,000 after buying an additional 2,094,191 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,293,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $415,031,000 after buying an additional 1,127,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,134,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,340,000 after buying an additional 120,044 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 75,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,242. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.57. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 1.48.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The firm 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 firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 60.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

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.