Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.42%. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $44.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.37. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $47.39.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 98.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,482,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $607,163,000 after purchasing an additional 233,844 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 44.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,152,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,972,000 after buying an additional 2,207,065 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,753,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,997,000 after acquiring an additional 52,336 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,662,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,478,000 after acquiring an additional 382,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 201.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,328,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223,630 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.67.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.