Oppenheimer Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.80% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on JEF. UBS Group assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.36. The stock had a trading volume of 291,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,912. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.38. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $38.77 and a 52 week high of $82.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,424,460.40. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 over the last ninety days. 20.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,455,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 232.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 280,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,174,000 after purchasing an additional 195,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.