Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Stake Boosted by Moerus Capital Management LLC

Moerus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 679,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,989 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 18.0% of Moerus Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Moerus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $44,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JEF. Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $938,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 299,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,619,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 46.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 328,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,518,000 after acquiring an additional 104,847 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $1,439,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.71.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 13.7%

JEF stock opened at $38.22 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.52. 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 released its quarterly 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. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.54%.

Jefferies Financial Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies issued a public response defending its position, saying the loan in question was non‑recourse, was diligenced by the bank, and that the Point Bonita fund acted in good faith — a statement that could limit perceived legal exposure or calm some investors. Jefferies Comments on Western Alliance Bank Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: PhysicsWallah will join a Jefferies‑led investor meeting on March 12 — a routine investor relations/deal engagement that is unlikely to move JEF shares materially but shows ongoing capital‑markets activity. PhysicsWallah to Join Jefferies-Led Investor Meet on March 12
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary assessing JEF valuation after the recent share weakness highlights that analyst targets remain well above current levels — useful context for longer‑term investors but secondary to the immediate legal headlines. Assessing Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness
• Negative Sentiment: Western Alliance sued Jefferies after recording a ~$126M charge‑off tied to a loan collateralized by receivables from First Brands; the suit alleges Jefferies declined payment under a forbearance arrangement — this legal claim is the primary near‑term catalyst driving the stock decline and higher trading volume. $126M Payment Dispute Sparks Western Alliance Lawsuit Against Jefferies
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP opened an investor investigation into Jefferies — a potential class‑action inquiry that can increase legal costs, create settlement risk, and sustain negative headlines even if the underlying exposure is limited. Pomerantz Investigates Jefferies Investors

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.