Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 64.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,398 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $62.27 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $78.21. The company has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JEF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.71.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

Jefferies Financial Group 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.