Algert Global LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,531 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $7,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876,529 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,218 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,211,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,148,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $61.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.75 and a 200 day moving average of $50.21.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 20.40% of the stock is owned by 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.