Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,388 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $5,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

JEF stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 412,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,262,099. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.34 and a 52-week high of $75.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.25.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 59.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of Jefferies Financial Group 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 sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.