Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Acquired by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 147.2% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 12,929 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 148,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,544,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares in the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 237,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,469,000 after acquiring an additional 5,652 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $529,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $2,154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of Jefferies Financial Group 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 sale, the president now directly owns 1,632,277 shares in the company, valued at $106,424,460.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 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 owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,144,592.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 493,526 shares of company stock valued at $31,703,689. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.4 %

JEF stock opened at $64.22 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 1.31. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.75 and a fifty-two week high of $67.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JEF. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th.

Jefferies Financial Group Profile

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.