Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.13), RTT News reports. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 7.26%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded up $0.70 on Wednesday, reaching $56.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,791,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,120. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $39.28 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group stock. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $41.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.25.

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.