Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $97.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $67.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $79.51 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $36.24 and a 52-week high of $81.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.04 and a 200-day moving average of $59.39. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 59.83%.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.