Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) shares reached 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.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 493,526 shares of company stock worth $31,703,689 in the last ninety days. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.02 and its 200-day moving average is $54.18. 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 company has a market cap of $14.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 1.31.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.