Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $9.85 Million Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 147,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,288 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $9,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.1%

JEF opened at $39.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.42. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.14.

More 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 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.