Comparing Financial Metrics: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Peers

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) is a diversified financial services company that operates in investment banking, capital markets, and asset management. It competes with firms like Raymond James Financial, Evercore, and Stifel Financial. A key metric for evaluating these companies is the comparison between Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) and Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC).

Jefferies has a ROIC of 18.59% and a WACC of 32.81%, resulting in a ROIC/WACC ratio of 0.57. This indicates that Jefferies is not generating returns that exceed its cost of capital, which could be a concern for investors. In contrast, Raymond James Financial has a ROIC of 16.80% and a WACC of 12.82%, leading to a ROIC/WACC ratio of 1.31, suggesting more efficient capital use.

Evercore Inc. shows a ROIC of 6.25% and a WACC of 9.56%, with a ROIC/WACC ratio of 0.65. This is slightly better than Jefferies but still indicates returns below the cost of capital. Stifel Financial, with a ROIC of 1.95% and a WACC of 15.23%, has a ROIC/WACC ratio of 0.13, showing the least efficient capital use among the peers.

Lazard Ltd presents a more favorable picture with a ROIC of 8.17% and a WACC of 7.54%, resulting in a ROIC/WACC ratio of 1.08. This suggests that Lazard is generating returns above its cost of capital. However, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation stands out with the highest ROIC/WACC ratio of 1.41, indicating the most efficient capital utilization among the companies analyzed.