Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $245,000 Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $79.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.05 and a 52-week high of $80.53. The company has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average of $57.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $551,773,323.27. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,424,460.40. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

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.