Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 37,878 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,040,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,878 shares during the quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.49% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $42,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 102,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 11,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 59,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:JEF traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.46. 137,046 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 984,899. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37 and a beta of 1.33. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.67 and a 12 month high of $47.87. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $44.67 and a 200 day moving average of $41.72.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,979,505. 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.