Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $49.27 and last traded at $48.91, with a volume of 199645 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.01.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 66.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $267,000. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 41.8% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 65,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,905,000 after acquiring an additional 19,430 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $404,000. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,154,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 90,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,000 after purchasing an additional 8,907 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.