International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases New Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $111,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,435,000. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 842,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,877,000 after acquiring an additional 86,898 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,462,000 after acquiring an additional 77,131 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 26.4% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 25,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,326,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $43.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.43. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $47.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About 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.