Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases New Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 207,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,561,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.10% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 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.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $55.87 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 44.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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. 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.