Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty 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 traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Capital One Financial set a $50.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.09.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 43.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.