Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $53.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.53. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $40.72 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently 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.