Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group saw a significant increase in short interest in August, with a 30.1% rise, bringing the total to 4,970,000 shares.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a miss on EPS estimates, with reported earnings of $0.40 compared to a consensus of $0.44.
• Jefferies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 2.5%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,970,000 shares, anincreaseof30.1% from the July 31st total of 3,820,000 shares. Approximately3.0% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately3.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $64.43. The company had a trading volume of 687,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,480. The firm has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.06 and a 200-day moving average of $54.49. 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 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 45,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,505,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,145,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $54.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.50.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.

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