Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 31,288 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,288 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $9,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 151.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 259,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,194,000 after acquiring an additional 156,346 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 49,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 29,430 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.1%

JEF opened at $39.84 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.42.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 6.61%.The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on JEF shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 research report on Monday, March 23rd. 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 on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.14.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced (0.40 per share, ~4.0% yield) — supports income investors and provides baseline shareholder support.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity — investors bought a big volume of JEF calls, signaling some speculative/hedged bullish interest in the shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Profit rose on dealmaking: Jefferies reported higher profits driven by investment‑banking revenue, which underpins the firm’s strength in advisory and markets. Jefferies profit rises on dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results characterized as mixed — some outlets say earnings met consensus and revenue rose on strong IB and equities, but other reporting highlights offsetting weakness in fixed income and private credit. JEF’s Q1 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ research team made portfolio moves unrelated to JEF’s balance sheet (Christopher Wood sold HDFC Bank and cut India weightings) — reputational/newsflow effect for Jefferies as a broker, but indirect for JEF share value. Jefferies’ Chris Wood sells HDFC Bank
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑lending blowups produced a tangible charge (reported ~$17M in losses), which directly pressured quarterly results and investor sentiment around Jefferies’ credit exposure. How Did Private-Lending Blowups Affect Jefferies’ Bottom Line?
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies disclosed an additional ~$10M First Brands loss/write‑off — another hit tied to credit exposures that reduced reported profitability. Jefferies reports new $10mn First Brands loss
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation inquiry: Pomerantz LLP has opened an investigation into claims on behalf of JEF investors, which raises legal/settlement risk and can weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Jefferies
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman lowered its JEF price target (from $54 to $47) — while maintaining a buy, the cut reduces the analyst‑implied upside and can damp buying interest. Goldman Sachs lowed JEF price target

Jefferies Financial Group 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.