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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a drop of 19.6% from the February 28th total of 2,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $52.17 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.56. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $40.72 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.36%.

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.