Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Oppenheimer Analyst Says

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $73.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.88% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on JEF. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE JEF opened at $74.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.66. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $34.34 and a one year high of $75.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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 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 business 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 posted $0.32 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value of $28,391,461.49. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 560,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,451,790.19. This trade represents a 41.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo acquired 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,993.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. 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.