Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Brian P. Friedman Sells 247,326 Shares

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $16,125,655.20. Following the transaction, the president now owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,424,460.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $64.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.92 and a 1 year high of $67.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.45. 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 (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of 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. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company 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 note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

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.