Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $66.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group traded as high as $60.73 and last traded at $59.67, with a volume of 1711025 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.54.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.42 and a 200 day moving average of $49.07. 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 (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

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.