Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 17th

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 27th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th.

Jefferies Financial Group has increased its dividend by an average of 26.0% annually over the last three years. Jefferies Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 28.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Jefferies Financial Group to earn $4.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.8%.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

JEF stock opened at $44.08 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $47.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.42%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Covington Capital Management grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 27.8% during the third quarter. Covington Capital Management now owns 2,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 67.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $103,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.