Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 4,851 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 18.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,851 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876,529 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,892,000 after buying an additional 1,529,218 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,211,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,148,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,998,000 after buying an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $62.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $62.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.16 and its 200-day moving average is $50.59.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on JEF. UBS Group began coverage on 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 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.