Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $286,476,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the second 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 during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the second 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 buying an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 780,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,063,000 after buying an additional 381,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group initiated 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 on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $79.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.17 and a 200-day moving average of $64.36. The company has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.77 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,632,277 shares in the company, valued at $106,424,460.40. This represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.