Marshall Wace LLP Has $96.89 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 365.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,529,218 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $96,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,998,000 after buying an additional 389,385 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,925,000 after buying an additional 34,295 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,707,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,298,000 after acquiring an additional 199,662 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on JEF. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $62.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $62.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.37 and its 200-day moving average is $49.88. The stock has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition 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.

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.