Brokerages Set Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Target Price at $68.83

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.8333.

JEF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $53.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.89. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 86.6% during the first quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently 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.