Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Short Interest Update

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,180,000 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the October 31st total of 10,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days. Approximately 7.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % 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. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 worth $7,064,000 after acquiring an additional 132,414 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $726,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,718,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,337,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after buying an additional 28,011 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.97. The company had a trading volume of 509,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,967. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $36.07 and a 1-year high of $80.53. The firm has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.28.

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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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.

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.