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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) hit a new 52-week high 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. The stock had previously closed at $58.54.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.