Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $651,000 Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $33,009,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Trivium Point Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $224,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $66,971,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.62.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

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 Trading Down 0.8%

JEF opened at $53.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.05. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during 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%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

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.