Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Cut to “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

JEF has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $59.46 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.34. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $40.72 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $724,971,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 159.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,988,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,518,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677,233 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,381,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094,191 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,293,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth $286,476,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.