Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Sold by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,845 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 300.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $358,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $56.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.55. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.