Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $80.53 and last traded at $80.12, with a volume of 27823 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on JEF shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased 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 $551,773,323.27. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $286,476,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,232,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,591,000 after purchasing an additional 76,327 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $202,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914,504 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.