Insider Selling: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) CEO Sells 400,000 Shares of Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 11.1 %

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $7.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.00. The company had a trading volume of 4,530,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,611. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.16 and a 12-month high of $72.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.18. The company has a market capitalization of $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 1.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 147.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 12,929 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 148,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 237,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,469,000 after buying an additional 5,652 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $529,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,154,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

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.