Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 112,666 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1,534.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 112,666 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $7,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 102.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $396,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,370,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 14,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased 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 raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated 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.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $65.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.38 and a 12 month high of $67.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.48. The company has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 9.27%. 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 business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.