Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) CEO Richard B. Handler Sells 1,500,000 Shares of Stock

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $44.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.21. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.81 and a twelve month high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,920 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,435,000. Hosking Partners LLP grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.5% during the third quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 842,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,877,000 after acquiring an additional 86,898 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,462,000 after acquiring an additional 77,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 26.4% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 25,040 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

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.