StockNews.com Downgrades Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:JEF opened at $55.24 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $40.72 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.16 and a 200-day moving average of $69.40. 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 $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $286,476,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $788,000. 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.