Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $81.92 and last traded at $81.87, with a volume of 565279 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JEF. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on 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 Price Performance

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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.94. The company has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.83%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,476,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $1,718,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,515,000 after purchasing an additional 28,011 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $3,337,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 299,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,422,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.