Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sets New 12-Month High at $49.27

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $49.27 and last traded at $48.91, with a volume of 199645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 105.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in 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.