Insider Selling: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Director Sells 46,200 Shares of Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.8 %

JEF traded down $0.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.04. The stock had a trading volume of 956,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,851. 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 company has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.92 and a twelve month high of $67.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.53.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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. UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during 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 increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.