Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 39,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,971,000. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for 0.5% of Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,325,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 226,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,798,000 after buying an additional 17,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.0%

JEF opened at $52.35 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.54. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on JEF shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.62.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.