Americana Partners LLC Takes $219,000 Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Americana Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was 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 owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 493,526 shares of company stock valued at $31,703,689 over the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $64.22 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.75 and a 52 week high of $67.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.69. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

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.