Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 12,845 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,845 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,947,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4,853.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,886,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,157,000 after buying an additional 8,707,273 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,972,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,167,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211,375 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,412,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,984,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $127,242,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JEF. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.25.

Jefferies Financial Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A Jefferies fund obtained a Singapore court order freezing assets linked to Radiant World, potentially improving the firm’s ability to recover funds. The action follows allegations that Radiant used falsified invoices, giving Jefferies legal recourse in a dispute involving approximately $500 million of exposure. Jefferies fund wins Singapore asset freeze against Radiant World
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies analysts continued issuing research on outside companies, including Buy coverage on Vodafone Idea, Welspun Living, Raymond Lifestyle and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, as well as defense-stock recommendations in India. These actions may support the visibility of Jefferies’ equity-research franchise but have limited direct impact on JEF’s earnings. Jefferies Vodafone Idea coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies analysts also maintained a Hold rating on Vivmark Residential and reiterated a Buy rating on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals. The research activity indicates continued client and market engagement, but the recommendations concern those companies rather than Jefferies itself. Jefferies Vivmark Residential rating
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies plans to wind down its outsourced fixed-income trading business. The exit could reduce operating complexity and future risk, but investors may initially focus on lost revenue, restructuring costs and questions about the profitability of the firm’s fixed-income platform. Jefferies to Wind Down Outsourced Fixed-Income Trading Business
• Negative Sentiment: The Radiant World allegations remain a significant overhang. Reports describe alleged fake invoices and question whether Jefferies’ roughly $500 million exposure can be fully recovered; even with the asset freeze, the dispute could produce write-downs, legal expenses and reputational damage. Jefferies Fund Accuses Radiant World of Fraud Over Fake Invoices

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.33 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.69. 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 company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $71.04.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.