Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Holdings Increased by Moerus Capital Management LLC

Moerus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 27.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 777,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167,347 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up 11.8% of Moerus Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Moerus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $32,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Nvwm LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $55.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.04. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.