26,000 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 26,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $3,509,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 132,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,196,000 after buying an additional 64,682 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,669,000. Check Capital Management Inc. CA purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,041,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $2,941,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Jefferies Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A Jefferies-linked fund obtained an asset-freezing order against Radiant World, potentially helping preserve assets tied to reported exposure of nearly $500 million. This may improve recovery prospects, although the situation remains unresolved. Jefferies fund wins Singapore asset freeze against Radiant World
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies is reportedly winding down its outsourced fixed-income trading business. The move could reduce operational and counterparty risk, but it may also limit revenue opportunities and signal a strategic pullback. Jefferies to Wind Down Outsourced Fixed-Income Trading Business
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies continues to promote investor meetings and publish bullish research on companies including LG Electronics India, Adani Enterprises and Vodafone Idea. These activities support its investment-banking and research franchise, but are unlikely to materially change near-term earnings expectations for JEF. LG Electronics India in Jefferies’ pole position
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target on JEF from $65 to $61 and maintained a Neutral rating, while BMO cut its target from $60 to $57 and retained a Market Perform rating. The revisions suggest more cautious views on valuation and earnings prospects. Jefferies’ latest quarterly results also missed consensus estimates for earnings and revenue, adding pressure to sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that a Jefferies-linked trade-finance fund had substantial Radiant World exposure have renewed concerns about potential credit losses, legal costs and reputational risk for the broader group. Jefferies-linked fund faces reported Radiant exposure

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Capital One Financial set a $57.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $60.00 to $57.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $51.98 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. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.70. The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and wealth management services. Its principal operating business, Jefferies, advises companies, governments and institutional investors on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic transactions.

Through its investment banking and securities operations, Jefferies offers equity and fixed-income underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and related services.