Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,039 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 57.3% during the first quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 51,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 18,623 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 46.1% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 41,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 9,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 5.4%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.49 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.87. The firm has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on JEF. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.