Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,973 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $14,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,577.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $62.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.31. The stock has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.28 and a 1-year high of $78.21.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 6.56%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $55.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.71.

Jefferies Financial Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported Q4 revenue and adjusted EPS above Street estimates, citing stronger M&A activity and underwriting that underpinned a rebound in profitability. Jefferies Q4 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a stronger 2025 rebound and the strategic SMBC alliance in its shareholder letter — messaging that supports confidence in fee pipeline and deal flow. Shareholder Letter / SMBC Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ business appears more stable as investment-banking revenues recover; the firm’s ongoing analyst/research activity and market commentary are notable but do not directly change JEF’s fundamentals. Reuters: Profit Rises on Dealmaking Rebound
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies disclosed a roughly $30 million lending loss related to exposure to First Brands, a direct charge that reduced GAAP profit and created uncertainty about future write‑downs. FT: Jefferies discloses $30mn loss on lending exposure to First Brands
• Negative Sentiment: The First Brands-related charge “muddied” Q4 results and contributed to analyst and market pushback, prompting a near-term stock reaction despite the underlying revenue and adjusted‑EPS beat. Seeking Alpha: Stock Slides as First Brands Charge Muddies Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation risk emerged: a law firm announced an investigation into potential investor claims related to Jefferies, increasing legal/regulatory overhang. PR Newswire: Pomerantz Investigation

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.