Morgan Stanley Upgrades Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to “Overweight”

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $97.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $67.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on JEF. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.8 %

JEF opened at $79.51 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $36.24 and a 1-year high of $81.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total transaction of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,081,825,270.88. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. The trade was a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1,386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 141,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,064,000 after buying an additional 132,414 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,718,000. Covenant Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $3,337,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after acquiring an additional 28,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 299,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,422,000 after purchasing an additional 7,889 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.