AM Investment Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 10,122 Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

AM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 102,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.42. 952,063 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,072,721. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.08 and its 200-day moving average is $39.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 35.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid 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 2.76%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.