Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Takes $6.46 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 104,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,455,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.05% of Jefferies Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $66,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $79.19. 1,487,483 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,267,202. The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.83. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.95 and a 12 month high of $82.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84 and a beta of 1.35. 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 posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company's revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased 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 dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares in the company, valued at $40,451,790.19. This represents a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.