Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price Down 8.1% – Here’s Why

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price was down 8.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $58.71 and last traded at $58.59. Approximately 766,507 shares were traded 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on JEF. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.60. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company 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 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 53.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 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.