Covenant Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 54,216 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Covenant Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 54,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on JEF. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,451,790.19. This trade represents a 41.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have 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 Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $76.77 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.34 and a 12-month high of $77.53. 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’s 50 day moving average is $65.86 and its 200 day moving average is $56.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 1.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

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.