Simmons Bank Takes Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Simmons Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

JEF traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.78. 287,042 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,040,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.91. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.33 and a twelve month high of $47.39. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.30 and a beta of 1.36.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

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.