Jefferies Financial Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with a 161% rise to nearly 9,775 contracts on Friday.
• The company reported earnings of $1.01 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $2.05 billion, which was also above expectations.
• Jefferies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, scheduled for payment on November 26th, representing an annualized $1.60 dividend with a yield of 3.2%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 9,775 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 161% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,740 call options.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $1.85 on Friday, reaching $50.65. The stock had a trading volume of 4,559,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,966,554. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The business's 50 day moving average is $62.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.21.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.25%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 54.98%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elequin Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% during the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,577.8% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.83.

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.

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