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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target lifted by Oppenheimer from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on JEF. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $72.00 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average of $54.18. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $33.16 and a 52 week high of $72.76. The company has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo bought 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $12,618,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 604,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,144,592.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 365.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,947,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,218 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $58,211,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 15.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,049,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,799,000 after purchasing an additional 936,424 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $21,148,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,998,000 after buying an additional 389,385 shares in the last quarter. 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.