Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group saw a significant increase in put options trading, with 3,514 contracts purchased, representing a 92% rise from its typical volume.
• The company has recently garnered attention from analysts, with a range of ratings from "strong-buy" to "hold," and an average price target of $72.00.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported strong quarterly results, exceeding earnings expectations with an EPS of $1.01 and revenue of $2.05 billion, marking a 21.6% increase year-over-year.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 3,514 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 92% compared to the typical volume of 1,827 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on JEF. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF traded up $0.65 on Thursday, reaching $55.09. The stock had a trading volume of 899,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,500. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.02 and a 200-day moving average of $55.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Jefferies Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 7.40%.The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 54.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elequin Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,577.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

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.

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