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

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1,953.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,529 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Weiss Ratings raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Oppenheimer reduced 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 research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $56.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.14. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. 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 (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.