Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 26,549 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 5.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 471,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,549 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $30,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,011,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 50,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,301,000 after buying an additional 21,085 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,990,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,374,000 after buying an additional 578,013 shares during the last quarter. Brian Low Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,358,000. Finally, Covea Finance purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,488,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.7%

JEF stock opened at $62.25 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $77.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 6.56%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 56.54%.

Jefferies Financial Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reported a quarterly beat (EPS $0.96 vs. $0.83 est.; revenue $2.07B vs. $2.01B) with revenue up ~5.7% year‑over‑year and solid margins/ROE — supports the firm’s earnings credibility and valuation metrics.
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ analysts remain active across sectors — recent coverage includes reiterations and price‑target moves on names such as Judges Scientific and Boku; this shows continued strength of the firm’s research franchise but has limited direct impact on JEF fundamentals. Judges Scientific: Cyclical Headwinds but Strengthening Fundamentals Support Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies sold its bitcoin holdings, citing quantum‑computing risk to crypto — a risk‑management move that reduces crypto balance‑sheet exposure (lower volatility) but could be viewed as forfeiting upside if crypto rallies. Jefferies Financial Group Just Dumped Bitcoin. Here’s Why.
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into potential securities claims against Jefferies, alleging materially misleading disclosures — this raises litigation risk and potential headline‑driven volatility for JEF shares. Rosen Law Firm Encourages Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Investors to Inquire About Securities Class Action Investigation – JEF

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on JEF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $55.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.71.

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.