LMR Partners LLP Invests $480,000 in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 34,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14,055.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,786,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 299,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,422,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JEF. UBS Group began 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 target for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,018,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,264,794. The firm has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.25. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.34 and a twelve month high of $75.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group'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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors 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 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 59.83%.

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.