Brian P. Friedman Sells 393,397 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 11.1 %

JEF traded up $7.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.00. 4,530,549 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,294,611. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.16 and a 1 year high of $72.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 34,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in 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 worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 14,055.6% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 299,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,422,000 after acquiring an additional 7,889 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Finally, 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 target price on the stock.

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.