Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Sells $28,391,461.49 in Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.61. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.16 and a 12-month high of $72.76. The firm has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.