Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,781,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 73,323 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.35% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $171,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,339,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 89.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 297,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,793,000 after purchasing an additional 13,801 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 23.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $318,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.
Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $80.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company's 50-day moving average price is $71.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.35. The company has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 1.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.95 and a fifty-two week high of $81.92.
Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 59.83%.
In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on 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.
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