Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) is Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 546,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,971 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group comprises 6.1% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. owned 0.27% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $33,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,799,000 after buying an additional 936,424 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,591,000 after buying an additional 76,327 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 34,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,218 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $64.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.38 and a 52 week high of $67.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on 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 began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.