Carmel Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,074 shares during the quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,608,000 after buying an additional 180,702 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,064,000 after buying an additional 132,414 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $2,722,000. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $726,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 199.1% in the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 27,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 18,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.5 %

JEF traded up $1.07 on Friday, hitting $71.50. 1,994,454 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,861. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.16 and a twelve month high of $72.76. The company has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.61.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

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.