StockNews.com Downgrades Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lowered 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 downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded down $0.66 on Tuesday, reaching $52.75. 1,500,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,657. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.03 and a 200-day moving average of $65.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 1.47.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.36%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.