Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 15.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JEF. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the first 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. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 687.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 11,901 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position 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 worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.40.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $54.62 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $62.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.25. The company has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 7.40%.The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.98%.

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.