Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 195,902 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 232.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 195,902 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.14% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $18,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $286,476,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914,504 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,218 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $350,799,000 after buying an additional 936,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $21,148,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.22. The company had a trading volume of 3,488,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,283,409. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.58 and a 1 year high of $82.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.24.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the president now owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 24.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % 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 three months. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.

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.