Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys Shares of 10,369 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% in the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

Key Stories Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Private-credit fundraising could support growth: Jefferies Credit Partners is reportedly seeking approximately $1.16 billion, or €1 billion, for a fund investing in private-credit secondary-market opportunities. The fund could expand Jefferies’ asset-management and credit-investment platform, although details on fundraising and economics remain limited. Jefferies Credit Partners Is Moving Its Own Loans Into a New Fund Jefferies aims to raise €1B for private credit secondaries fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Research activity involving other companies is unlikely to materially affect JEF directly: Jefferies maintained or changed recommendations on Bajaj Housing Finance, Swiggy, Jupiter Wagons, Belrise Industries and BSE. These reports may generate advisory or trading activity, but they do not represent changes to JEF’s own earnings outlook. Jefferies research on Bajaj Housing Finance Jefferies research on Swiggy
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigation adds an overhang: Bragar Eagel & Squire announced an investigation into Jefferies Financial Group on behalf of investors who suffered losses. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but such notices can increase headline, legal and reputational risk. Bragar Eagel & Squire investigation into Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $53.43 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.53 and a 52-week high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

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

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.