Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 3,912 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the president now owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.2 %

JEF stock opened at $80.90 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $37.95 and a one year high of $81.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.45 and a 200-day moving average of $60.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.62 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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.

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.