Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 7.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 137,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,281 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $8,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $267,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased 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. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2,392.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 56,236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $77.95 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $36.07 and a one year high of $80.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31 and a beta of 1.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 41.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. 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 upped their target price on 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.

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.