Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 163,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,518 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $10,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 132,414 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $726,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $1,718,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $3,337,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after buying an additional 28,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease 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, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $79.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.05 and a twelve month high of $80.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

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.