Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $64.67, but opened at $59.54. Jefferies Financial Group shares last traded at $60.7430, with a volume of 773,266 shares traded.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Four investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.71.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 9.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,990,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,374,000 after purchasing an additional 578,013 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 50,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 21,085 shares in the last quarter. Covea Finance purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,488,000. Brian Low Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,358,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $307,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.