Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) PT Raised to $59.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $44.00 to $59.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, June 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $56.97 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $57.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.84. The firm has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,799,000 after acquiring an additional 936,424 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,168,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,925,000 after acquiring an additional 34,295 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.