The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $54.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on JEF. Zacks Research lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.8%

JEF stock opened at $36.32 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 56.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.