1,591,384 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,591,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $79,537,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of JEF stock opened at $53.12 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

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.