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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $44.58. 2,516,209 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,073,375. The stock has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a P/E 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’s 50-day moving average is $43.04 and its 200 day moving average is $39.21. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the fourth 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 position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 175.7% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.33.

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.