Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1,953.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 53,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,529 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvwm LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $56.74 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.89 and its 200-day moving average is $52.14. 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 $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.62.

More Jefferies Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies’ bullish take on Databricks’ $188 billion private valuation has renewed optimism around public cloud/software peers like Snowflake, reinforcing Jefferies’ reputation for timely sector calls. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Gap’s Hailey Bieber denim collaboration is seeing strong sell-through and social engagement, a sign that its retail and consumer research is identifying improving brand momentum at clients. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies upgraded Fervo Energy to Buy, showing continued willingness to back growth stories in the energy transition space and potentially supporting sentiment toward the firm’s research franchise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ market commentary that stocks may have another week before earnings-driven moves could help reinforce its macro and strategy coverage, but the impact on JEF stock is limited. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP launched an investigation into claims on behalf of Jefferies Financial Group investors, adding legal overhang and headline risk for JEF. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A fire at Jefferies’ New York headquarters triggered an evacuation, creating an operational distraction and potential concern for investors, though no major financial impact was indicated. Article Title

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.