Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Acquired by Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 196,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 108,520 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $9,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $834,947,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,972,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,167,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211,375 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,412,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,984,055 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $127,242,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,584,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $53.13 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.62.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.