Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,703,804 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 1,063,685 shares.The stock last traded at $44.13 and had previously closed at $44.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.30.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,920 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,435,000. Hosking Partners LLP grew its stake 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 period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,462,000 after acquiring an additional 77,131 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 25,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.