Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Stock Position Raised by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,394,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 118,886 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up approximately 1.6% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $109,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $286,476,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,718,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after acquiring an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,515,000 after acquiring an additional 28,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covenant Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,337,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $75.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.74. The firm has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.77 and a 1 year high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders 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 is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,424,460.40. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,086,923 shares of company stock valued at $76,381,151 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

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.