Brokerages Set Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) PT at $72.00

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $62.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.39. Jefferies Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 9.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,990,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,374,000 after acquiring an additional 578,013 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,808,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,723,000 after purchasing an additional 819,594 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,082,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,911,000 after purchasing an additional 648,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $107,356,000. 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.