Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 52-Week High at $51.36

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.36 and last traded at $50.95, with a volume of 116663 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on JEF shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 66.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 150,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 15,033 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 30,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $752,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.