Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $73.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group traded as high as $69.74 and last traded at $69.74, with a volume of 20350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.82.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on JEF. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $12,618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 604,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during 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 period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

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.