Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Sees Large Volume Increase

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,703,804 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 research analysts have recently issued reports on JEF shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.0 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 102,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,754,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 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.