M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Invests $423,000 in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,632,277 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,424,460.40. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock valued at $76,381,151 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised 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 note on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,636,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,397,993. The stock's fifty day moving average is $77.47 and its 200 day moving average is $66.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.77 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.