Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $45.07 and last traded at $46.72, with a volume of 1508189 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on JEF. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $51.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.36. The company has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $772,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,035,000 after buying an additional 232,237 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $788,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

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.