Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Acquired by Poehling Capital Management INC.

Poehling Capital Management INC. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,577 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for about 1.6% of Poehling Capital Management INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Poehling Capital Management INC. owned approximately 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $6,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 369.4% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 64,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,431,000 after buying an additional 50,409 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,621,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $55.42 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.83. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.