Redwood Investment Management LLC Sells 39,015 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Redwood Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 32.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,015 shares during the quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $5,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in 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 worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $77.33 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $80.53. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $68.70 and its 200 day moving average is $58.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last 90 days. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.