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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.42%. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $44.08 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $28.81 and a twelve month high of $47.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.37.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Covington Capital Management increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.8% in the 3rd 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 increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 67.1% in the 1st 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 shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. 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.