Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Purchased by Kera Capital Partners Inc.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 14.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,115 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $5,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% during the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $66.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.66. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 1.49.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.