Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $45.16 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 740.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,094,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 963,917 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $45,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investment banking revenue surged 57% year over year to about $1.21 billion, and equities revenue hit a quarterly record, showing strong dealmaking and trading momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved a $250 million share repurchase plan, which can support the stock by signaling management believes the shares are undervalued.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, reinforcing capital return to shareholders.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company said its Hildene investment is expected to close in the third quarter, which could help results later but was not enough to offset near-term investor concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter EPS came in at $1.02, below consensus estimates, and revenue of about $2.21 billion also missed expectations, triggering a sell-off focused on weaker-than-expected profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Asset-management fees and investment return revenue fell 35% year over year, suggesting softness outside the core banking and trading businesses.
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors appear to be taking profits after a strong run in capital-markets-related shares, implying that much of the upbeat banking performance may already have been priced in.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $52.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.38 and its 200-day moving average is $53.30.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.62.

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.