Oppenheimer Raises Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $56.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $54.00 to $56.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 28.15% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $43.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.82 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 41,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 7,988 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,707,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,298,000 after acquiring an additional 199,662 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HMS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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.