StockNews.com Lowers Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to Hold

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Separately, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of JEF stock opened at $41.77 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $28.81 and a 1-year high of $47.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.82. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.