Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $80.13, but opened at $74.66. Jefferies Financial Group shares last traded at $72.44, with a volume of 859,265 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 11.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.58.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The company’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 393,397 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.17, for a total value of $28,391,461.49. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 560,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,451,790.19. The trade was a 41.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 68.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.