Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Issues Earnings Results

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $46.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $46.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.33. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,482,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $607,163,000 after acquiring an additional 233,844 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 44.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $188,997,000 after buying an additional 52,336 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 382,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 201.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,328,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.