Vise Technologies Inc. Invests $994,000 in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 19,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.34 and its 200 day moving average is $50.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.