Sei Investments Co. Boosts Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 377,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $18,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 59,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on 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 report on Monday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Friday, June 21st.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $61.97 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.97. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $62.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released 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 return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.