Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $55.92, but opened at $53.50. Jefferies Financial Group shares last traded at $54.54, with a volume of 540,861 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 7.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,943.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 2,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $50.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.05. The stock has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.45.

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.

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