Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Buys 11,240 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,240 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $8,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 5,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 8,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $66.73 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.87 and a 200 day moving average of $55.00.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on JEF shares. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.67.

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.