Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target lifted by Oppenheimer from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $44.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.08. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $31.12 and a 1-year high of $47.87.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given 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 yield of 2.73%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 105.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.