Simmons Bank Purchases 1,890 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,608,000 after purchasing an additional 180,702 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,064,000 after acquiring an additional 132,414 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,722,000. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $726,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 199.1% in the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 27,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 18,332 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $74.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.34 and a 1-year high of $75.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 directly owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’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 value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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.

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.