Nykredit A S Makes New $31.47 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Nykredit A S purchased 629,669 shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter, valued at approximately $31.47 million and representing about 0.33% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 60.88% of JEF.
• Jefferies reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, below analysts’ $1.16 estimate, while revenue rose 35% year over year to $2.21 billion. The stock opened at $47.85, with analysts holding a consensus “Hold” rating and a $62.75 price target.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, implying a 3.3% annualized yield, and authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program covering up to 2% of outstanding shares.

Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 629,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $31,471,000. Nykredit A S owned approximately 0.33% of Jefferies Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 95,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,933,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.0%

JEF stock opened at $47.85 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley increased 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 research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $57.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.75.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and said Jefferies could benefit from a revival in mergers and acquisitions, although it lowered its price target to $76 from $83. A stronger M&A environment could support Jefferies’ investment-banking revenue. Jefferies Financial Group Seen Benefiting From M&A Revival
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies is serving as a joint book-running manager for Electra Therapeutics’ upsized $350 million IPO. The mandate highlights continued equity-capital-markets activity and could generate underwriting fees, though the financial impact on JEF is likely modest. Electra Therapeutics IPO

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc NYSE: JEF is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and wealth management services. Its principal operating business, Jefferies, advises companies, governments and institutional investors on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic transactions.

Through its investment banking and securities operations, Jefferies offers equity and fixed-income underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and related services.

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