Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases New Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 8,229 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,035,000 after purchasing an additional 232,237 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $57.70 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.05 and a 200 day moving average of $57.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

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). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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