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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 26th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Jefferies Financial Group has increased its dividend by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years. Jefferies Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 28.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Jefferies Financial Group to earn $4.35 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 27.6%.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of JEF stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.76. 3,906,196 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,065,056. The stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $31.38 and a 1 year high of $50.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.79.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 5.37%. The firm's revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares in the company, valued at $119,979,505. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.