Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 12-Month High at $51.36

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $51.36 and last traded at $50.95, with a volume of 116663 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on JEF. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.81 and a 200 day moving average of $43.13. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.34. 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 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 66.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,046,000 after purchasing an additional 51,633 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,920 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,435,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,419,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,638,000. 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.