Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Buys 8,706 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 172,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,706 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $13,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $76.89 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.59 and its 200 day moving average is $66.28. The company has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.58 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value of $28,391,461.49. Following the sale, the president now owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,451,790.19. This represents a 41.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.