Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Has $312,000 Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning decreased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,676 shares during the quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 150,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 15,033 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 102,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 6.2% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 22,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 30,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 3,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 16.0% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 3,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $51.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.38 and a 52 week high of $51.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.94 and its 200 day moving average is $43.18.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 66.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, 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. Company 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.