Highland Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in 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 period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $12,618,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’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 owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF opened at $64.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.37 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.38 and a 1 year high of $67.79.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on JEF. UBS Group assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

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.