Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 110,922 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 507.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110,922 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $8,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Insider Activity

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last 90 days. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $78.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.07. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.07 and a 12 month high of $80.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62 and a beta of 1.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

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.