Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03), Yahoo Finance reports. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.10. 1,494,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,212,719. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.04. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $31.38 and a twelve month high of $62.98.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group started coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares in the company, valued at $551,773,323.27. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 20.40% 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.