Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Shares Down 8.1% – What’s Next?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) dropped 8.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $58.71 and last traded at $58.59. Approximately 766,507 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,347,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 5.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.60.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.