Point72 DIFC Ltd Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $267,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2,392.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,915,000 after buying an additional 56,236 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $58,211,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 132,414 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $77.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.63. The firm has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $80.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.