Hantz Financial Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3,577.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $54,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 30,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 48,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 9,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $343,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $53.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.25. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.83.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.