Friedenthal Financial Purchases Shares of 9,845 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $70.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,022,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,510,420. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.77 and a 1-year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.69%.

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.