Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Bought by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,394,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,886 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group comprises about 1.6% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.68% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $109,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 41.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $75.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.77 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.74.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

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.