Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:JEF opened at $65.51 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 1.49.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.38%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,951 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 230.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 126,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,971,000 after purchasing an additional 87,841 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.