3,984 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Bought by Capstone Investment Advisors LLC

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in 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 in 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 position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $79.14 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.05 and a fifty-two week high of $80.53. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 1.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 payout ratio is 59.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.