Jefferies Financial Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JEF)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyJefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF – Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 16,488 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 424% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,146 call options.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 29,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 6,403 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,574,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 593.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 185,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,513,000 after buying an additional 159,016 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.14.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Jefferies Financial Group
Jefferies Financial Group News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Investment‑banking strength drove revenue growth—total net revenues rose to about $2.02B and investment banking net revenues exceeded $1.0B, helping year‑over‑year profit improvement. Business Wire: Q1 Results
- Positive Sentiment: Board declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend (4.0% yield), a near‑term cash return that can support the share price. Dividend Announcement
- Positive Sentiment: Takeover/speculation chatter has buoyed sentiment at times as investors revisit strategic options and potential bids. That speculation remains unresolved but provides upside optionality. Zacks: Takeover Speculation
- Neutral Sentiment: Q1 headline results are mixed: revenue rose ~26.6% versus last year, but EPS reporting has been read differently across outlets (company reported $0.70 diluted EPS; some summaries show consensus comparisons). The mixed reads are producing varied analyst reactions. Business Wire: Q1 Results
- Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit and small‑loan blowups hit results: Jefferies disclosed roughly $17M in losses tied to two collapsed private‑lending positions, which trimmed profitability and raised credit‑risk concerns. Barron’s: Private Credit Losses
- Negative Sentiment: The firm also wrote off additional exposure (reported ~$10M related to First Brands), amplifying the headline that credit losses eroded some of the investment‑banking windfall. Financial Times: First Brands Loss
- Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation and investigator notices (Pomerantz, Bronstein) citing potential claims have emerged, increasing legal and reputational risk for investors. PR Newswire: Pomerantz Investigation
- Negative Sentiment: Analyst pushback: BMO cut its Jefferies price target to $42, signaling caution from at least one large shop and limiting near‑term upside until credit and legal issues clarify. American Banking News: BMO Lowers PT
Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance
NYSE:JEF traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,442,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,118,022. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.
Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.
Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.54%.
Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile
Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.
In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.