Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) shares passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.38 and traded as high as $49.33. Jefferies Financial Group shares last traded at $49.1260, with a volume of 3,066,439 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Capital One Financial set a $50.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 43.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) is a diversified financial services company that operates primarily through its investment banking and capital markets subsidiary, Jefferies LLC. The company provides advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and other corporate transactions, along with equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, research, and prime brokerage services.

Jefferies also manages and invests capital through asset management and merchant banking activities.