Equitable Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Equitable Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 18.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,710 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the second 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 during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $33.16 and a one year high of $72.76. The firm has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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 net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Jefferies Financial Group 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.