Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Raised to $56.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $54.00 to $56.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $44.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $44.86 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $28.81 and a 1-year high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 157,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after acquiring an additional 45,686 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,787 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,093.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,829,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,549 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.