Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos told Closing Bell Overtime that recent Department of Justice scrutiny of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has failed to sway investor sentiment. Despite high trading volumes—averaging 9.8 billion shares per session in the past week—major U.S. indices have clustered within a 1% trading range, signaling limited reaction to political noise. Zervos noted that breadth indicators remain healthy, with 68% of S&P 500 components trading above their 50-day moving averages, underscoring broad-based confidence in corporate earnings and economic data over regulatory drama.

In its latest 13F filing, Cerity Partners LLC disclosed a 6.0% reduction in its position in Jefferies Financial Group, selling 13,973 shares in the third quarter. The fund now holds 217,535 shares—equivalent to approximately 0.11% of the company’s outstanding stock—valued at $14.23 million as of the filing date. Cerity’s move follows a period in which institutional ownership of Jefferies rose to 60.9%, with several smaller asset managers including EverSource Wealth Advisors and Bessemer Group increasing their stakes by over 48% during the same period.

Jefferies reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.96, topping consensus estimates by $0.13, on revenue of $2.07 billion, 3% ahead of projections and up 5.7% year-over-year. Return on equity reached 7.31%, while net margin stood at 6.56%. The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 2.6% yield and a payout ratio of 56.5%. Jefferies also signaled confidence in its capital markets and advisory pipeline, forecasting full-year EPS of $4.41 and reiterating its commitment to maintaining a strong liquidity position with a current ratio of 1.05.

Following the earnings release, four analysts reiterated Buy ratings on Jefferies, while three maintained Hold opinions, resulting in a consensus Moderate Buy recommendation. Price targets range from $55.00 set by Capital One Financial to $97.00 from Oppenheimer, with an average target of $72.71. Telsey Advisory Group and Weiss Ratings also weighed in, setting targets of $74.00 and reaffirming a Hold grade respectively, highlighting expectations for continued margin expansion in the firm’s sales and trading business.