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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the March 15th total of 2,220,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.00. The stock had a trading volume of 197,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,007,714. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.05. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,153,000 after buying an additional 167,270 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $788,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.