4,159 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Acquired by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake 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 worth $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 34,295 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,529,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $73.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.45. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.34 and a 12 month high of $75.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. This represents a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is 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.