Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Given New $66.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective boosted by Oppenheimer from $64.00 to $66.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.7 %

JEF opened at $58.54 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. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $31.38 and a 1-year high of $59.97. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.94.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,046,000 after buying an additional 51,633 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,419,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,608,000 after purchasing an additional 180,702 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 132,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,722,000. 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.