L & S Advisors Inc Makes New $2.60 Million Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 42,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 150,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,638,000 after buying an additional 4,336 shares during the period. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $1,446,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,779,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,058,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,693,000 after purchasing an additional 45,348 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of JEF opened at $75.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.03 and a beta of 1.31. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.34 and a 52-week high of $75.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.47 and its 200-day moving average is $56.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.