Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted 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 buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.4 %

JEF stock opened at $64.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.69. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.75 and a 52 week high of $67.79.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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 target for the company. 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 report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,424,460.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $12,618,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 493,526 shares of company stock valued at $31,703,689. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.