Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 2.0 %

JEF opened at $46.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.33. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $28.81 and a twelve month high of $46.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Covington Capital Management increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 27.8% during the third quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 2,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 67.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.