Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $53.53 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $40.72 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 company has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.50.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,130,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.