Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Has $70.96 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. cut its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,152,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,341,813 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up approximately 1.7% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 0.56% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $70,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JEF. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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 Up 0.4 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.20. The stock had a trading volume of 234,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,368. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.38. The company has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.92 and a 12 month high of $67.79.

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). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president now owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 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 price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $12,618,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. This trade represents 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.

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.