Bank of Nova Scotia Buys New Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 207,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,561,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth 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 period. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Nvwm LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.0%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.87 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its 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 firm 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%.Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.62.

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.