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

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

JEF has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 3.2 %

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.24 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.40. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $40.72 and a 52 week high of $82.68.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.