Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 45.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,011 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $5,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 34,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after buying an additional 1,529,218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 24.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 in the last three months. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $78.58 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $34.34 and a one year high of $78.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.26 and a 200-day moving average of $56.76. The company has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on 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.

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.