Stifel Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 68.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,203 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,718,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,515,000 after purchasing an additional 28,011 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $3,337,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 299,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,422,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,534.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 120,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,386,000 after purchasing an additional 112,666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $78.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.77 and a 1-year high of $82.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on JEF shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value 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 41.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last 90 days. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.