Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price reached 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.

A number of other analysts have also commented on JEF. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the second 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.25 and its 200 day moving average is $48.94. The company has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89 and a beta of 1.32. 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 results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.