Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target increased by Oppenheimer from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.00. The company had a trading volume of 235,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,482. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $33.16 and a twelve month high of $72.76. The company has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.42.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.83%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, 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 purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 shares were purchased at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $551,773,323.27. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 147.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 12,929 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 148,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,544,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares in the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 237,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,469,000 after buying an additional 5,652 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $529,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.