Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 50,409 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 369.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,409 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $3,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 824.0% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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 lowered shares of 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 objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $57.09. 700,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,856,560. The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.87. The firm has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54 and a beta of 1.46. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 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.