Jefferies Financial Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JEF)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 4,246 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 413% compared to the average volume of 827 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $48.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average is $42.79. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $31.38 and a 1 year high of $49.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.