HWG Holdings LP Makes New Investment in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 53,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,000. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 1.1% of HWG Holdings LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $65.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.79. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.38 and a 12 month high of $67.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group assumed 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 target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.