Short Interest in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Decreases By 17.1%

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,820,000 shares, a decrease of 17.1% from the January 31st total of 3,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF traded down $1.52 on Friday, hitting $56.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,711,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,285. The stock has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87 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. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $72.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.47. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

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Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 53.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.