Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,505 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,064,000 after buying an additional 132,414 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $726,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,718,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,337,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after buying an additional 28,011 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This represents a 24.86 % 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. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $79.14 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.05 and a 1-year high of $80.53. The stock has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. 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 research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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.