Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Separately, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $45.89 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $31.12 and a 52-week high of $47.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61 and a beta of 1.33. 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 $44.82 and a 200-day moving average of $42.42.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $267,000. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 65,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after acquiring an additional 19,430 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $404,000. Algebris UK Ltd bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,154,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 90,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,971,000 after purchasing an additional 8,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.