Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Separately, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.4 %

JEF opened at $45.70 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $31.12 and a fifty-two week high of $47.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46 and a beta of 1.33.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The company 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 4.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 98.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total transaction of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,405,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $178,046,000 after purchasing an additional 51,633 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,236,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,920 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,435,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,419,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,638,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.