Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $60.29, but opened at $54.28. Jefferies Financial Group shares last traded at $55.35, with a volume of 1,019,138 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in 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 increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the fourth 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

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 market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.41.

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.