Insider Buying: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Director Purchases 9,247,081 Shares of Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $62.07 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.38 and a 12 month high of $62.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 77.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876,529 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,852,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,218 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,211,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,148,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JEF shares. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company.

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.