Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership Invests $1.45 Million in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,446,000. Jefferies Financial Group accounts for 0.9% of Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,046,000 after acquiring an additional 51,633 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,920 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,419,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,608,000 after acquiring an additional 180,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,638,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.71. 1,038,429 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,094. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.38 and a 12-month high of $58.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.16.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 66.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

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.