Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Trading Down 8% on Disappointing Earnings

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price traded down 8% during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $52.25 and last traded at $53.3260. Approximately 1,376,903 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 2,615,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.94.

The financial services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

More Jefferies Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies delivered sharply higher quarterly profit and revenue, with net earnings more than doubling and total net revenues rising 35% year over year, helped by stronger investment banking and equities results. Jefferies Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved a $250 million share repurchase program, signaling confidence in the company’s valuation and supporting shareholder returns. RTT News buyback report
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, reinforcing income appeal for investors. Seeking Alpha dividend article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Jefferies remained active on other names, including a Buy view on Salesforce and Chemring, which does not directly affect JEF but reflects ongoing brokerage and research activity. Jefferies Maintains a Buy on Salesforce
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the stronger headline results, Jefferies missed consensus estimates for both EPS and revenue, which is likely weighing on the stock. Jefferies Q2 Financial Results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on JEF. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 6.5%

The firm has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.28 and its 200 day moving average is $53.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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.