Ibex Wealth Advisors Sells 38,628 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Ibex Wealth Advisors lowered its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 85.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,628 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors' holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total transaction of $28,391,461.49. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. This trade represents a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of JEF traded up $1.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.25. 413,066 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,389. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $77.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.10. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.58 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

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.