Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Short Interest Update

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a decline of 19.6% from the February 28th total of 2,760,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,796,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,881. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $40.72 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on JEF. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.