Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Reduces Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 503,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91,205 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $30,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 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. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $79.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.34 and a 52-week high of $80.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.65 and a 200-day moving average of $57.15.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced 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). The firm 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%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd.

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.