Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 59,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE JEF opened at $59.95 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.81. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $59.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.