Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 1,703,804 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 1,063,685 shares.The stock last traded at $44.13 and had previously closed at $44.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JEF. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 88.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,113,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $269,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876,529 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $88,852,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 100.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,290,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,282,000 after purchasing an additional 646,666 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,265,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,337,000 after acquiring an additional 562,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1,126.9% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 587,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,737,000 after acquiring an additional 539,534 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.