Fmr LLC Buys 2,914,504 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Fmr LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 782.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,914,504 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $202,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd 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 bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on JEF shares. Oppenheimer raised 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. UBS Group started 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 boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 in the last ninety days. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.2 %

JEF opened at $78.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.07 and a twelve month high of $80.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.83%.

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.