Covenant Asset Management LLC Takes $3.34 Million Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 54,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,596,000. Creekside Partners purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $241,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $313,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $3,328,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $226,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value 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 represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $76.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.53. 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 12-month low of $34.34 and a 12-month high of $77.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 business’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, 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 paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.83%.

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.