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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.42%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $44.08 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $28.81 and a 52 week high of $47.39. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $42.08 and its 200-day moving average is $38.37. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Covington Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.8% in the third quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 2,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 67.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.