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

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 48.66% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:JEF opened at $36.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day moving average of $58.19.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.2% during the 3rd 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 period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

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

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.