Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEFGet Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06), Briefing.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $80.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.47. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $38.77 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.83%.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $16,125,655.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,632,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,424,460.40. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock valued at $76,381,151. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Earnings History for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF)

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