13,981 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Purchased by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 13,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $46.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.52 and a 200-day moving average of $41.10. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $29.83 and a one year high of $47.87.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

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.