Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE JEF opened at $46.13 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.33. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $28.81 and a one year high of $46.25. 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 has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,152,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,972,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $68,262,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 20,887.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,007,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 592.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 971,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 831,088 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.