JEF vs. MCO: Jefferies vs. Moody's Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though JEF is classified under Investment Banking & Brokerage while MCO falls under Financial Exchanges & Data.

Company profile comparison for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Profile Item	JEF	MCO
Name	Jefferies Financial Group Inc.	Moody's Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Investment Banking & Brokerage	Financial Exchanges & Data
Market Capitalization	10.88 billion USD	87.19 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	October 31, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

JEF

MCO

GSPC

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
Total Return (1Y)	-6.26%	5.02%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.02%	15.27%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	7.20%	6.21%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

JEF

MCO

GSPC

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	41.25%	28.61%
Beta (5Y)	1.49	1.28
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-54.39%	-40.93%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.20M	817.57K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

JEF and MCO are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.26	0.03
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.33	0.04

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 76.74% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Jefferies (JEF) at 8.59%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

8.59%

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
JEF: 8.59%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

76.74%

MCO: 76.74%
Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their ROE against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Moody's (MCO) at 35.26% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Jefferies (JEF) at 11.00%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

11.00%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
JEF: 11.00%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

35.26%

Max: 62.84%
MCO: 35.26%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Jefferies (JEF) at 15.80% and Moody's (MCO) at 46.27% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

15.80%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
JEF: 15.80%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

46.27%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
MCO: 46.27%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
ROE (TTM)	8.59%	76.74%
ROA (TTM)	1.21%	15.56%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.00%	35.26%
Operating Margin (TTM)	15.80%	46.27%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Jefferies (JEF) at 2.93% and Moody's (MCO) at 8.89% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Jefferies (JEF) at -5.35% and Moody's (MCO) at 21.40% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.93%	8.89%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	14.83%	12.17%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-5.35%	21.40%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-2.57%	22.48%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Jefferies (JEF) in Financial Services and Moody's (MCO) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Jefferies (JEF) in Financial Services and Moody's (MCO) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Jefferies (JEF) at 3.29% and Moody's (MCO) at 0.78% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

3.29%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
JEF: 3.29%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

0.78%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
Median: 1.09%
MCO: 0.78%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Jefferies (JEF) at 42.67% and Moody's (MCO) at 24.59% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

42.67%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
JEF: 42.67%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MCO

Financial Services industry group

24.59%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
MCO: 24.59%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.29%	0.78%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	42.67%	24.59%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Jefferies (JEF) at 12.63 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 30.85 sits in the richer quartile — MCO needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

12.63

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
JEF: 12.63
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

MCO

Financial Services industry group

30.85

Max: 45.85
MCO: 30.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Jefferies (JEF) at 1.28 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 10.66 clears its benchmark range — MCO looks notably rich on sales.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

1.28

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
JEF: 1.28
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

MCO

Financial Services industry group

10.66

MCO: 10.66
Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Jefferies (JEF) at 1.02 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Moody's (MCO) at 26.68 prices above its benchmark range — MCO looks rich relative to book.

JEF

Financial Services industry group

1.02

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
JEF: 1.02
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

MCO

Financial Services industry group

26.68

MCO: 26.68
Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

Jefferies (JEF) vs. Moody's (MCO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Jefferies (JEF) and Moody's (MCO)
Metric	JEF	MCO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	12.63	30.85
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.28	10.66
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.02	26.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--