Moors & Cabot Inc. Has $1.36 Million Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $80,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $60.85 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $62.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company.

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.