Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $2.15 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management initiated a $2.15 million position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter, acquiring 42,909 shares. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of JEF.
• Analysts remain cautious, with two Buy ratings and five Hold ratings; the stock has an average target price of $62.62. Jefferies recently reported $1.02 in quarterly EPS, below the $1.16 consensus, despite 35% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Jefferies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 3.0% yield, and authorized a $250 million share-repurchase program covering up to 2% of its outstanding shares.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 42,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,145,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. 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 note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.84. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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