Morgan Stanley Increases Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $64.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $59.00 to $64.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.42% from the company’s previous close.

JEF has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $62.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.88. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $31.38 and a 52-week high of $62.98. The company has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 1.32.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,419,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 376,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,608,000 after acquiring an additional 180,702 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 132,414 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,722,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $726,000. 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.