Eminence Capital LP Purchases 1,896,547 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Key Points

• Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in Jefferies by 129.7%, buying 1,896,547 shares to hold 3,358,561 shares (about 1.63% of JEF) valued at roughly $219.7 million, making JEF its 12th largest position.
• Analyst sentiment has soured—several firms cut price targets (Oppenheimer, UBS, Goldman, Morgan Stanley) and Zacks downgraded JEF to "strong sell"—while multiple shareholder lawsuits and securities‑fraud investigations have increased legal and reputational risk as the stock hit a 1‑year low; consensus remains a Hold with a $60 price target.

Eminence Capital LP raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 129.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,358,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,896,547 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 2.7% of Eminence Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Eminence Capital LP owned 1.63% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $219,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $64,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

JEF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $36.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $54.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.15.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

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.

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