Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 1-Year High at $51.44

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $51.44 and last traded at $51.42, with a volume of 303547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 66.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $726,000. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 66.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 159,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,939,000 after purchasing an additional 63,766 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.