Centennial Bank AR Trims Stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF

Centennial Bank AR cut its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 40.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Centennial Bank AR’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on JEF shares. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.71.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies resumed coverage of Antero Resources (AR) with a Buy rating and $50 price target — underscores active research coverage and potential advisory/underwriting leverage in E&P names. Jefferies Resumes Coverage of Antero Resources (AR) with Buy Rating and $50 PT
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies analyst maintained a Buy on Puig, citing resilient growth and valuation upside — example of repeatable research coverage that supports trading and client flow. Puig: Resilient Growth and Valuation Upside Support a Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated a Buy on Foghorn Therapeutics, highlighting a near‑term catalyst (FHD‑909) and pipeline upside — shows research coverage into biopharma catalysts that can drive transaction activity. Jefferies Initiates Buy on Foghorn Therapeutics Driven by FHD‑909 Mid‑2026 Catalyst and Upside from Emerging EP300/CBP Degrader Pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies sees DraftKings’ post‑earnings pullback as a buying opportunity — reflects the firm’s willingness to back clients through trading/coverage calls, which can support trading revenue. DraftKings Stock Is Oversold on Earnings Plunge. Should You Buy the Dip?
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated Buy calls on niche names (Chemring, Hacksaw, ITM Power) — breadth of buy-side recommendations signals active coverage and potential fee/opportunity generation across defense, gaming and clean‑energy sectors. Buy Rating on Chemring Driven by Structural Growth Visibility and EPS Acceleration Despite Transitional FY26
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Hold/neutral reiterations (Kambi, Scandic Hotels, Somnigroup) and a downgrade of Kinetik to Hold — routine research updates that keep client engagement steady but are unlikely to materially change Jefferies’ revenue outlook. Kambi: Solid Operational Progress but Estimate Cuts and Regulatory Headwinds Justify Neutral Hold Rating

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 3.6%

JEF opened at $53.85 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $71.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 1.50.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 56.54%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company 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.