Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $81.92 and last traded at $81.87, with a volume of 565279 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.83%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,339,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 89.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 297,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,793,000 after purchasing an additional 13,801 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 23.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $318,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.