Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 on August 30th

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 26th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Jefferies Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 26.0% annually over the last three years. Jefferies Financial Group has a 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded up $0.80 on Friday, hitting $49.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 159,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,034,596. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.79. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $31.38 and a 12 month high of $50.17.

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

Insider Transactions at Jefferies Financial Group

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Jefferies Financial Group news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of Jefferies Financial Group 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JEF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

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.