Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the March 15th total of 2,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $1.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,281,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,578,140. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.64. The stock has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.29.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

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