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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis.

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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.08 and a 200 day moving average of $38.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth $53,000. Covington Capital Management lifted its stake in 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 worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 67.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.