Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 518 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $70,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $77.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.17. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.58 and a 1-year high of $82.68. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on 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.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

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