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 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.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,419,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,608,000 after purchasing an additional 180,702 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,064,000 after buying an additional 132,414 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,722,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $726,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.42 and a 200 day moving average of $49.07. The company has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio 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.