Nykredit A S Makes New $47.05 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 941,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,053,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CX Institutional lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the 2nd 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. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.8%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $52.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Jefferies-linked fund obtained a freezing order and is pursuing legal action against iron ore trader Radiant World in London. The action may help protect the fund’s investment, although Jefferies holds only a minority stake and the direct financial impact on JEF is unclear. Jefferies-linked fund takes legal action against trader Radiant World in London
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies analysts issued Buy ratings on Cameco, enCore Energy and Nouveau Monde Mining, citing uranium-sector growth, production expansion, balance-sheet improvement and demand for non-Chinese graphite. The calls reinforce Jefferies’ research franchise and sector expertise, though they do not directly affect JEF’s operating results. Cameco Rated Buy on Structural Uranium Upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage of Welspun Corp with a Buy rating and a target implying substantial upside, while maintaining a Hold rating on TT Electronics because improved profitability is offset by weak cash conversion and debt concerns. These recommendations may generate client activity but have limited direct significance for JEF. Welspun Corp shares jump after Jefferies initiates coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies’ latest reported quarter came in below analyst expectations for both EPS and revenue despite strong year-over-year growth. That performance remains a more direct pressure on JEF’s valuation than the recent third-party research calls.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.