Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 320,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $19,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in 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 period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $76.77 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.34 and a 52-week high of $77.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.86 and a 200 day moving average of $56.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 1.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The business’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. 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 target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

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.