Analysts Set Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) PT at $62.62

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.6250.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE:JEF opened at $52.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.10 and a 200-day moving average of $52.76.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.