Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Shares Down 8.1% - Should You Sell?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) shares traded down 8.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $58.71 and last traded at $58.59. 766,507 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 1,347,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.6 %

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 firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.47.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.69%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $629,000. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

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.