Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo Acquires 9,247,081 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.29. 2,408,419 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,044. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.29. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.38 and a 12-month high of $62.67.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876,529 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $88,852,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after buying an additional 1,529,218 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,211,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,148,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

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.