Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Invests $213,000 in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 61.8% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 19,110 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.1% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 27,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,080,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer increased 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

JEF stock opened at $62.07 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $62.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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.