Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $36.32 on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 73,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer cut its price target to $74 from $97 but kept an “outperform” rating, still implying large upside vs. the current share price. Oppenheimer Lowers PT to $74
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its target to $59 (from $76) but maintained a “buy” rating — a reduction in optimism but not a cut to recommendation. UBS Lowers PT to $59
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs trimmed its target to $54 (from $61) while retaining a “buy” stance, signaling lower near‑term expectations from a major bank but continued conviction in longer‑term value. Goldman Cuts PT to $54
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded JEF from “hold” to “strong sell,” increasing selling pressure and signaling short‑term analyst skepticism. Zacks Downgrades to Strong Sell TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder lawsuits and continued securities‑fraud investigations (press releases from Pomerantz, Glancy Prongay & Murray, and other firms) raise legal and reputational risk that could pressure the stock and increase potential liabilities. Pomerantz Investigation Glancy Prongay & Murray
• Negative Sentiment: JEF hit a new 1‑year low following recent analyst downgrades, highlighting increased short‑term downside risk and reduced analyst confidence. 1‑Year Low After Downgrade

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.