Jefferies Financial Group price target raised to $66 from $61 at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs analyst James Yaro raised the firm’s price target on Jefferies Financial Group to $66 from $61 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares ahead of its Q3 results. The company has seen robust Dealogic M&A completions this quarter – up 70% from last year vs. down 10% for the industry – which leads the firm to forecast Jefferies’ IBanking revenue rising 53% vs. 23% for the industry, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jefferies has also seen among the strongest improvements in its M&A backlog year-do-date, up 105% vs. a peer average of 53% and the industry at 18%, the firm added.