Amalgamated Bank Sells 7,958 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,958 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $4,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the second 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 bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.5 %

JEF traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.50. 1,993,854 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,250,585. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.16 and a 1-year high of $72.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $62.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.42. The stock has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

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.