Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 158.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $40,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. This trade represents a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $70.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32 and a beta of 1.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.77 and a 12 month high of $82.68. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.17.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 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 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed 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 for the company.

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.