Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Holdings Lifted by Harbour Capital Advisors LLC

Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $286,476,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,718,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,515,000 after purchasing an additional 28,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covenant Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $3,337,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $70.82. 1,985,082 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,415,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.02. 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 12 month low of $38.77 and a 12 month high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,451,790.19. This trade represents a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock valued at $76,381,151. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.