Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $350,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the 2nd 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. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $64.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.38 and a fifty-two week high of $67.79.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 issued 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 2.17%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 shares were bought 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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 increased their price target on 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 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.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.