Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Grows Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 357.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,787 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. 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 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $52.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.76. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.