Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Receives $60.75 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.3750.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of JEF stock opened at $61.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.41 and a 200-day moving average of $53.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The company has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 6.61%.The firm’s revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth 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. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.