Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Takes $2.47 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased 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 filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 46,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,467,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $724,971,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 159.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,988,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,518,000 after buying an additional 3,677,233 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 63.7% in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,941,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,029,000 after buying an additional 1,437,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 27.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $55.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98 and a beta of 1.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 60.38%.

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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