Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $76.12 and last traded at $75.93, with a volume of 87921 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on JEF. UBS Group began coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.47 and a 200-day moving average of $56.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction 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 represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last three months. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% during the second 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. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 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.