Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Increased to $64.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $59.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.09% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $62.08. The stock had a trading volume of 623,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,105. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.61. Jefferies Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $31.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.