Permanens Capital L.P. Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Permanens Capital L.P. has acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group, purchasing 7,580 shares valued at approximately $406,000 in the first quarter.
• Jefferies Financial Group's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.40, falling short of analysts' expectations and showing a 1.3% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, yielding 2.5% annually with a payout ratio of 60.38%.

Permanens Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JEF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,972,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,037,785 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,808,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,723,000 after acquiring an additional 819,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:JEF opened at $63.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.69.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on JEF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.

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