Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Short Interest Down 21.0% in May

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,120,000 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the April 30th total of 3,950,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,980,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE JEF traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.97. 2,874,911 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,647,748. The company has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 1.45. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.40.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.75.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.