nVerses Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 105.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE JEF traded up $0.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 392,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,919. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $13.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.81 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.94. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $67.78.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (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 6.46%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.