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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective upped by Oppenheimer from $54.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.86. 698,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,053,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.55. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $28.81 and a one year high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,406,920 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,435,000. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 842,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,877,000 after acquiring an additional 86,898 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,462,000 after acquiring an additional 77,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 26.4% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 120,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 25,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.