Empowered Funds LLC Sells 3,483 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,483 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other 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 value of $12,618,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 24.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $74.67 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.34 and a 12 month high of $75.81. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 1.31.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

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.