Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Buys Shares of 21,734 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 182,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,517,000 after buying an additional 8,827 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 142.2% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 93,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 54,753 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 234.9% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 8,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $2,941,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.0%

JEF opened at $52.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JEF. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.