Compass Wealth Management LLC Sells 300 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Compass Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $70,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $76.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 1.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.58 and a one year high of $82.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

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.