Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Sells $28,391,461.49 in Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $70.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.16 and a 1-year high of $72.76. The stock has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.42.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 34,295 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after buying an additional 1,529,218 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.