Morgan Stanley Upgrades Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to “Overweight”

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $97.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $67.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.64% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $78.46 on Monday. 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 has a 52-week low of $36.24 and a 52-week high of $81.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.61. The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,144,592.54. This trade represents a 24.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 in the last 90 days. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 232.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 280,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,174,000 after acquiring an additional 195,902 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $252,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 29,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 5,065 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,987,000 after buying an additional 344,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.