Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,775,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 919,378 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 2.80% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $377,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:JEF opened at $36.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.53 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.10.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.54%.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer cut its price target to $74 from $97 but kept an “outperform” rating, still implying large upside vs. the current share price. Oppenheimer Lowers PT to $74
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its target to $59 (from $76) but maintained a “buy” rating — a reduction in optimism but not a cut to recommendation. UBS Lowers PT to $59
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs trimmed its target to $54 (from $61) while retaining a “buy” stance, signaling lower near‑term expectations from a major bank but continued conviction in longer‑term value. Goldman Cuts PT to $54
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded JEF from “hold” to “strong sell,” increasing selling pressure and signaling short‑term analyst skepticism. Zacks Downgrades to Strong Sell TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder lawsuits and continued securities‑fraud investigations (press releases from Pomerantz, Glancy Prongay & Murray, and other firms) raise legal and reputational risk that could pressure the stock and increase potential liabilities. Pomerantz Investigation Glancy Prongay & Murray
• Negative Sentiment: JEF hit a new 1‑year low following recent analyst downgrades, highlighting increased short‑term downside risk and reduced analyst confidence. 1‑Year Low After Downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

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.