Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:JEF)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th.

Jefferies Financial Group has raised its dividend by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years. Jefferies Financial Group has a payout ratio of 32.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Jefferies Financial Group to earn $4.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.4 %

JEF stock opened at $61.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76 and a beta of 1.32. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $31.38 and a 52 week high of $62.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on JEF. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th.

Insider Activity

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, Director Mitsui Financial Grou Sumitomo purchased 9,247,081 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $551,773,323.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,247,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,773,323.27. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.