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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s share price 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on JEF shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.81 and a 200-day moving average of $43.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.7% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.